Seek and You Shall Find
by CaelynAilene
Summary: Draco has disappeared in the States after his year of house arrest has ended. Unforeseen circumstances lead Harry to volunteer to go find the blond. Two men, one in disguise, trapped in a cabin in the woods by illness and a blizzard. What will happen?
1. The quest begins

Harry stood in the corner of the rather large waiting and greeting area that led to the airport security area, looking through his bag to make sure that he hadn't forgotten anything he would want on the plane and then looking warily over Hermione and Ron's shoulders making sure no one else was close enough to overhear their conversation. It was simply too crowded, too many Muggles were around to risk even a small Silencing spell around them or a Muffliato. The trio stood closer together than the average group, nearly in a huddle. Ron and Harry both leaned over a bit to be easier heard by Hermione because she was the shortest of the three. Harry had nearly caught up to Ron in height finally stopping with the top of his head reaching the top of Ron's ears. Hermione stood a head shorter; the three made an interesting picture amongst the many people moving here and there along the white tile floor or stopping to look up at the windows overhead giving a view out onto a remarkably clear blue London sky with just a few stray wispy white clouds.

"I don't understand why you have to be the one to do it," Ron complained quietly frowning and reaching up to brush his hair back off his forehead out of habit having forgotten that he had had Hermione cut it much shorter just a few days ago, Harry had told him it looked much like what Muggles used to call a buzz cut or a flat top.

Harry just shook his head but didn't respond. They'd had this argument at least three times in as many days. Instead he turned and looked at Hermione with a raised eyebrow knowing she would provide the support he needed; she understood, possibly more than he even understood himself.

Hermione shook her head as well, stepped away from her exasperated husband who had been standing with his right arm around her, turned back to him and said, "No one else would go or would have wanted to if asked. You know that; and somebody has to. It wouldn't be right otherwise."

Ron rolled his eyes and sniped, "Like it really matters. It's his own fault if his mother dies and he doesn't know about it. He could have kept in touch, sent letters or made Floo calls. He did for a year, over a year; wasn't it closer to a year and half?"

Harry nodded, "Yes, he sent a few letters after the attacks in New York City to let her know he was clear across the country and was perfectly safe somewhere in the mountains of Northern California. It was past the time he needed to regularly check in with the MACUSA main office. And Kingsley was able to check in with the branch office in California…" Harry drifted off thinking of the conversation that day in the Minister's office; the one that had started this whole trip.

* * *

One week ago:

"Harry thank you for coming in," Kingsley said standing behind his desk to greet Harry as he stepped into the office. It seemed that once again the minister had redecorated, or perhaps his wife had done it. She seemed to relish changing the look of the office and did it almost seasonally. There were wall to the left when entering was now covered in small portraits of each of the previous ministers, much like the head's office at Hogwarts the portraits were in a variety of states, some awake, some asleep, some seemed to be reading, and still other frames were empty. In front of the portraits sat a long oak conference table surrounded by at least ten chairs. The fireplace to the right was lit but the flame was low. Harry knew this became the Floo that connected directly to the Muggle prime minister's office, the only one that did so and the portrait that communicated with the prime minister was directly above it much as Kingsley had told him it did in his Muggle counterpart's office.

Harry stopped short when he saw Poppy Pomfrey and Minerva McGonagall sitting in the plush burgundy chairs front of the Minister's large oak desk with the elaborate scroll work.

"Hello Harry," Poppy said softly, smiling just a touch.

"Hello Mr. Potter," said McGonagall much more formally and nodding in his direction her glasses perched precariously on the edge of her nose but not daring to slide off, she would never have allowed it.

"Is there something wrong at Hogwarts?" Harry asked, instantly worried at the sight of the two ladies.

"No, no," both women assured him quickly.

"Why don't you sit down and we can explain what's happening," Kingsley suggested, gesturing to the empty seat next to the women, and taking his own seat directly in front of the enchanted window on the wall behind his desk that was currently looking out over the coast near St. Andrews, the curtains around the window had been changed to match the visitors chairs. The burgundy velvet brought out shades of red he had never noticed before in the walls of the room. It was then that he also noticed that the frames of all of the portraits had been spelled to appear a dark burnished gold.

Once Harry was settled leaning back in his chair, right ankle propped on the opposite knee, hands resting on his left thigh with finger interlaced, looking deceptively calm Poppy spoke softly but strongly, "Harry, Narcissa has taken ill, quite ill. I am really not sure what the problem is. None of my detection spells are finding any known illness."

"Poppy contacted me to let me know," Kingsley said, "and I sent Healer Merton to attend to her."

"So no one else knows?" Harry asked, knowing that Merton was the personal healer to the Auror department, sworn to an Unbreakable Vow of secrecy for any patient she saw in that capacity, or any patient she was ordered to see by the Minister only allowed to speak to the Minister himself or those designated by him or the patient about the patient's condition. Sometimes Harry wondered how any healer was able to maintain the job for more than a year with that much held in their head but he knew Muggle doctors also were held to confidentiality unless given other permission by they patient so he supposed it really wasn't any different and that usually ended the train of thought.

"No," McGonagall assured him. "We have an assistant matron now at Hogwarts so the students have not noticed that Poppy has been out more. The position was added when Madame Pomfrey began teaching healing courses to NEWTS level students interested in post Hogwarts careers that might require or benefit from the knowledge and a basic home healing class for any student third year on. We had a private room set up in the hospital wing but Narcissa refuses to come to Hogwarts."

"Is she still with Andromeda?" Harry asked.

Poppy nodded.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. The two sisters had come to an uneasy reconciliation after the trials. They had corresponded quite a bit during the year of Narcissa and Draco's house arrest, and once the year was over Narcissa had moved in with Andromeda to help her raise Teddy, and had since steadfastly refused to return to the manor. Loathe to leave it in the condition it had been in since Voldemort had moved in, and unable to change anything during her year of house arrest with Draco she had since hired teams of witches and wizards to clean and cleanse the Manor from top to bottom. This included a large amount of redecorating and even some remodeling where possible. She had been handling all of the supervision through meetings by Floo or at Andromeda's house with others taking turns looking in on the actual work on the mansion and providing her with pictures of the process.

Harry himself had been back to the manor to help oversee and even assist in some of the work. It was beginning to look like a very different place. Hermione had even visited purposely to see the drawing room remodel to help her achieve a sense of closure over her torture there at the hands of Bellatrix. It had given her great pleasure to help do some of the tear down there. She and Harry had each found pieces of the chandelier that Dobby had dropped nearly on top of Bellatrix, and had each placed a piece on Dobby's grave. He kept one tucked in the mokeskin pouch from Hagrid, and she had taken enough pieces of chain and crystal to make a much smaller chandelier that hung in the dining room at she and Ron's house. Only she and Harry knew where it had come from. Ron had refused any suggestion of returning to the manor, he wouldn't even go to help with any of the demo work, but each time Harry ate with them he and Hermione shared a smile looking at it, for them it led not to a memory of a horrible time but rather it was a reminder of a sweet, caring, brave, dear friend they had never expected to have or to lose.

"She won't go anywhere the war affected if she can avoid it," Harry said, "so it doesn't surprise me that she wouldn't go to Hogwarts even with it being completely reconstructed," something else he had spent a great deal of time assisting with as had all of his friends.

"Yes, she became quite panicked at the idea of being in the castle," Poppy replied. "I believe she, like so many others, is suffering from what Muggles call PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and we just don't seem to have a handle on treating it but for her avoiding those places may be a part of preventing anxiety attacks. I've come to realize that there are some illnesses both physical and mental that Muggles have a better handle on than we do."

Harry thought for a moment, "I don't know how she would take to the idea but has anyone suggested a Muggle doctor see her? There are other Muggle ailments not often seen in wizarding society, or at least that's what Hermione tells me."

"Andromeda suggested it," Kingsley said, "Narcissa resisted the idea as she's afraid of being kept in a Muggle hospital. We tried to assure her that she can insist on not being admitted but she's also worried about what will happen to her magic if she spends too much time there surrounded by electronics."

"Which is also a valid concern," Minerva continued, "if her magic were to weaken, she could become even sicker. As I am sure you are aware, your magic is a part of you, a deeply seated part of you that becomes active when you are a child. There are those that believe squibs still have a magical core with the ability to do magic locked inside them but that for whatever reason it is never unlocked, it is quite a fascinating area of study actually and I could go on quite a tangent about it but that is quite beside the point and this is not the time for such a conversation. If your magic, or magical core depending on the expert you listen to, weakens then you weaken. Again it is believed that this magical core might be why we suffer from diseases that Muggles do not and why we do not suffer from some that they do. Often times someone who is seriously ill can no longer control their magic and it becomes much like a child whose magic is just manifesting wild and random. Patients in a coma are sometimes placed under special wards to keep the magic from destroying the room they are in; others are placed under special wards to keep the magic within feeding itself as it were to help the patient heal. We're still not sure why electricity and magic seem to be so incompatible, no one has really looked into it. We've always just accepted that they don't work together. I know some workarounds have been created but I don't know if any of them would work in a Muggle hospital, and it may just be that the fear of electronics hampering magic could be enough to actually cause it."

"As it is, I'm not sure if she's going to recover," Poppy said and then paused, "she appears to be dying and there's nothing we can do about it. I've tried everything I know to do as has Healer Merton. Andromeda has been doing research but hasn't been able to find anything yet. This is something we've never seen before. I quietly conferred with some colleagues at St. Mungo's looking through the records there and found nothing really like it. She seems to just be fading away before our eyes, not rapidly mind you but fading nonetheless."

"Andromeda can use the library at Grimmauld place, if she doesn't want to go in I can send Kreacher to her with anything that might help. If he knows it's to help Narcissa he will do everything he can not just because I ask as his owner but because he is still incredibly devoted to the Black family and all it's members. He's even taken to Ron more now that he knows his grandmother was a Black. He always makes something for me to take over to 'Mistress Narcissa' when I go visit."

"Thank you Harry." Poppy said, "I'll send her an owl when we leave here."

Harry thought for a moment, "That's not the only reason you called me in though is it."

"No," Kingsley replied sitting forward in his chair at which point Harry noticed the file folder sitting in the middle of the otherwise clear desk.

"Still no word from Draco?" he guessed.

"Other than an occasional package for Teddy with no note or return address, no."

"And you contacted MACUSA," Harry said knowing that that would be the standard operating procedure for a missing citizen in another country, first contact the government and law enforcement of that country to ask them to conduct a search if they didn't have any knowledge of the location of said missing person, "what did they say?"

"I did," Kingsley nodded, the former auror in him proud of Harry for being so aware of procedure that was not needed often, "President Flerston assigned two of their aurors to find him but they've had no luck so far. Flerston has said I can send one or two aurors to assist in the search or take over."

"I'll go," Harry said immediately, "I know you may want to send someone more experienced and that Draco may not react well to seeing me, but I don't know that he'd react well to any auror, and I know how to manage myself in the Muggle world so I won't stand out if I have to travel amongst them. Even with things being somewhat different in America I shouldn't stand out more than any other British tourist."

"Are you comfortable going alone?" Kingsley asked. "I can send one of the senior aurors with you."

"No," Harry replied knowing the senior aurors would be incredibly arsed to be pulled from any case they might be on for a missing person's case, especially a missing former Death Eater. He knew many of them felt that Draco had gotten off easy, that he should have been locked up in Azkaban. He would be better off going by himself, "I think it would be better if I went alone. If he sees two aurors coming together he might think the worst, just one might have him thinking the worst. It's hard for us to hide what we are. When in undercover mode, even using Polyjuice there's something we can see at least in each other that is a giveaway. Put a group of aurors together in Muggle clothing in a room full of others in the same clothing and for some reason you can still tell they're aurors, maybe not everyone can see it but we can see it in each other and it never ceases to surprise me when the person we're chasing can see it too.

Kingsley laughed, "Some are better at hiding it than others."

Harry nodded, "I think some try harder than others and some just adapt better to undercover work."

"I've heard it's much the same in Muggle police officers," Kingsley commented.

"Is there any way to contact him at all?"

"We've tried the Floo network but where ever he is, he's not connected. We also tried owls, well the aurors in the States did and they returned with the letters. We even tried sending letters through the Muggle post, but they were also returned as undeliverable and those were sent directly to the post office in the town he sends his packages from."

"Is there any reason to suspect foul play or do we just think he's disappeared by choice?"

"Considering he did send a Christmas package last year and then another only a few months ago, I think it's safe to assume that he was healthy and in no danger at that time but as there has been nothing from him since then…" Kingsley trailed off.

Poppy reached out a hand with several small rolls of parchment, "These are the letters his mother tried to send but they've each been returned. Would you take them to him? I have also written him a letter explaining what I can about her condition. Hopefully they will help convince him to return or at the very least to contact Narcissa."

"You said she appears to be dying," Harry said, "but can you tell me any more about her actual condition? I know it might be a breach of confidentiality so I understand if you can't but it would help if I could answer any questions he might have, and quite honestly I'd really just like to know."

Poppy nodded, placed the parchments on the desk, and reached over to squeeze his hand, "I'm sure Narcissa won't mind. She has mentioned how much she looks forward to your visits and as you will visit her before you go?" she raised an eyebrow somehow both questioningly and knowingly.

"Yes."

"Then you probably should be prepared for what you will see. She is now bedridden. There is no physical reason we can find for her inability to walk but she can't. She is only capable of sitting up for short periods of time before becoming too tired to stay in that position. Her pallor is concerning and we've given her a few blood replenishing potions but they seem to make no difference, pepper up also has little to no effect on her. Under her pillow at all times is her wand, though she rarely uses it as she struggles to cast even the simplest of spells but she won't let it away from her; it seems to bring her comfort to have it nearby. Her hair has begun to fall out, not in large amounts but it is noticeably thinner. I don't know what else to tell you. This illness is just mystifying," she leaned forward, towards Harry speaking earnestly.

"Thank you for sharing that with me," Harry picked up the stack of parchments from the desk and also took the paper the Kingsley passed to him, "This is a letter from me, assuring him that he is not wanted by the Ministry or the Wizengamot, that he would be allowed to travel freely should he return, and that no one would stop him from once again leaving the country. Use whatever resources you need to prepare for your trip. I know there is a large stock of Polyjuice that you are welcome to use. The ministry is covering all expenses, just make any arrangements you need to get to the USA. Report to the MACUSA main office in New York City, they will assist you from there."

"I'll get started right away."

* * *

Harry shook his head coming out of the memory and replied, "And you don't find that suspicious Ron? That no one has heard from him in months, no actual letters in years?"

"Well," Ron hemmed and hawed shifting his feet back and forth looking out the windows, up at the sky, over at security, pretty much anywhere but at Harry, "yes it's strange, but it doesn't mean that anything happened and since the US aurors didn't find anything I think he's just gone off to hide and pout at no longer being the center of attention he always was. Besides, I just don't understand why we're looking into it we don't even have any jurisdiction there anyway."

"Ron you know they tried," Hermione said putting her hand on his arm.

"And apparently they're awful at it or he doesn't want to be found," he snapped fighting with himself not to shake off his wife's hand.

"Or maybe," Hermione suggested, "they can't find him because something happened to him or they didn't try as hard as they say they did."

Ron snorted and rolled his eyes, "Can you blame them?"

"Ronald!" she snapped and smacked him in the arm.

Harry raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the right, "Um mate if that's going to be your opinion on those we might have to look for, that some aren't worth finding you might need to look into a different career. He was tried and convicted and he served his time. Whether you agree with the punishment or not, it's not your call."

Ron scowled and crossed his arms, "I do my job."

"So it's just Malfoy that's the problem? If you had been assigned to go look for him can you honestly say you would your hardest."

The ginger just squirmed a bit but didn't reply.

"Yeah, that's pretty much what I thought," Harry said in disgust, "personal feelings have no place on the job or we're no better than they were, no better than Umbridge was."

"And how exactly would you feel if someone knew your mother was dying and didn't try as hard as they possibly could to find you and let you know even if you'd chosen to take some time away from everything?" Hermione asked him with a glare.

"Hermione, don't even say that." Ron's eyes were wide and he jerked back as if wounded, the thought of losing another family member turning his face as white as the few clouds drifting overhead.

"I'm sorry, but you have to pull your head out of your arse," she sighed as her shoulders slumped.

Harry shook his head blowing out a breath through nearly clenched teeth before speaking, "It doesn't matter. I'm going. Poppy said she doesn't know how long Narcissa has; I have to go, someone has to go and that someone is me. They're not finding him over there for whatever reason so I'm going to look."

"You will be careful though won't you?" Hermione asked stepping closer to him and squeezing his arm gently.

"Yes," Harry answered, "of course I will."

"You have everything you need?" She pulled her arms in close around herself as if fighting the urge to go through his bag.

"It's all packed. Everything I need to get there anyway. I'm trying to travel light but not so light that I'll stand out among the Muggles, erm NoMajs. I'll pick up anything else I need when I get there or as I go. I have that small knapsack you put the Undetectable Extension charm on once I get there and have cleared all of the various airport and customs checkpoints and to MACUSA to pick them I'll pack all of my magical items in it."

"I don't get why you didn't do that yet?" Ron mumbled, "it's such a waste of time to do it later."

"It was just easier to send everything but my wand ahead because everything has to be x-rayed and I don't know how the magic will react to that when it's filled. I know how to do the charm now so if I get to the States and the charm has been deactivated by the x-rays and electronics I can recast it, but can you imagine what would happen if I had a knapsack stuffed as full as Hermione's beaded bag and the charm stopped working. Yeah I'm thinking I'd be sitting in airport jail and then a real Muggle jail. It's not worth the risk. McGonagall mentioned no one really knows why magic and electronics don't work together that no one has researched it at all. It's really something someone should look into but unless directed to do it I don't think anyone will," Harry explained.

"Probably because they consider themselves superior, even tolerant witches and wizards don't often see any use in anything Muggle," Hermione scoffed.

"I know you don't need more to do Mione, but it could be something for you to look in to," Harry suggested.

"Maybe or maybe I could start the research then pass it onto Arthur. With his interest in everything Muggle he'd certainly be the one wanting to learn how to use electricity. You'll be okay driving over there?" Hermione asked changing the subject, "I know you can drive here but it's different there."

"Yes," he replied, "Kings let me use a private driving course to practice driving on the left side of the road it's not hard with a little practice and I'll be driving slow, slower anyway wouldn't want to miss a turn or anything."

"We have access to a private driving course?" Ron's jaw dropped, "Why didn't I know about this?"

"It's not ours, it's not like we own the property. The course is part of training for the London police department but Kingsley spoke to Prime Minister Blair and he arranged for us to use it when we need. It is occasionally used by aurors that may need to spend more time in the Muggle world on a case. I got to work with Muggle driving instructor. He taught me some strategies for driving in the ice and the snow, and on steep hills since we think he's in the mountains."

"Wonder if I can get a chance to use it, I need practice just to drive here so I can get my driver's license. Why are you taking an airplane though? Why not use a Portkey?" asked Ron, looking around at the mass of people walking to and from the security area. It was more crowded here than Diagon Alley the last weekend before the Hogwarts term began.

"Portkey travel at that distance is just as expensive as a plane ticket and much more nauseating, besides this will give me time to go over the map of the area and look for possible locations. I can use the time to plan my search pattern. I can compare it with the information I got from the US aurors office. It would be a good idea to have a plan before I get there rather than winging it and going along impulsively like we did looking for Horcruxes. I know that worked out in the long run but I need to find Draco faster than we found the horcruxes."

"Get some sleep too Harry," Hermione said.

"I will," he promised.

"Call us if you need anything, Floo or regular phone," she said.

"If I can find a place to floo I will, but I doubt I'll use the regular phone that's very expensive and I don't want to use more of the Ministry's money or my own than I need."

Hermione reached out and slid something into his hand, "Here," she said, "this is a calling card. It has minutes already loaded on it. It's actually an international calling card so it should work easily. If you run out of minutes there's a way to reload them; it has the instructions for how to do that on the back."

"Thanks Mione," he was touched that she had thought of this and vowed to find a way to pay her back. He knew she and Ron didn't have much money, they lived comfortably but he also knew that they were trying to save everything they could and with good reason. He on the other hand now had access to the Potter family vaults and the Black family vaults though he had tried to transfer those first to Andromeda for Teddy and then to Narcissa. After they had both refused he had instead officially had Teddy named as his heir for the Black vaults, should he ever have his own children the Potter vaults would go to them. He had also set up a separate trust fund account for Teddy that the boy would receive when he finished his education at Hogwarts.

"How you going to pay for everything over there?" Ron asked.

"I have my Gringotts debit card, which will look like a regular credit or debit card to any NoMajs, and I'll exchange actual coins for American money both NoMaj and wizarding when I stop in at MACUSA and check in in New York. I have two different wallets so I can keep the different kinds of money separate. In New York, they're going to guide me to the main California branch I don't know if it'll be by plane or a number of Floo stops or Portkey. I'll find out when I get there, but they're covering the expense on that and being reimbursed by the Ministry. All I need to worry about is food. They're even providing the rental vehicle, I think it's a Jeep of some kind. I'll be roaming the hills or mountains of northern California and need a vehicle that can do that."

Harry looked at his watch, "I really need to go now. I have to get through security and it's not a short line, then off to my gate. I'll call you when I land."

Hermione gave him a hug, holding him for longer than usual, and whispered in his ear, "Be careful."

He hugged her back, "I will," he promised.

Ron put out his hand to shake and then pulled Harry into a not so quick hug, squeezing tighter than normal, as if he didn't want to let go, "I still don't know why it has to be you but be safe mate."

Harry laughed, "Don't worry about it! I know better after all these years than to take unnecessary risks especially since I won't have Mione there to pull my arse out of the fire." They all laughed though it was an uncomfortable laugh of those used to always being together or at least near enough to help one another in times of need not knowing how to deal with being so far apart.

"And promise you'll be back before the new year and this little one's due date," Hermione said as she rubbed her rather large rounded stomach.

Harry patted that same stomach then leaned over and spoke to it, "Rose I'll be back before you get here little flower."

"Ugh don't call her that," Ron groaned and rolled his eyes.

"I think it's sweet," Hermione said smiling.

Harry laughed and said, "He's going to be even more confused when I give her the stuffed animal I have for her."

Hermione's eyes lit up as a grin spread across her face, "Let me guess, it has four legs, a tail, and is black with white stripes."

He laughed and nodded.

She joined him in laughing as Ron looked on confused.

Finally Harry stopped and said, "I really do have to go now. I promise to be safe, and I promise to stay in touch."

With that he grabbed his knapsack, put it over his shoulder, turned and with a quick wave walked away to the security lines. Hermione and Ron stood and watched until Harry had made it through the metal detectors and was off down the terminal to his gate.

 **A/N this is the first chapter of my 2018 NaNo novel, as I'm working my way through finally editing it I'm going to be posting it. As always reviews are welcomed and appreciated.**


	2. Searching

Harry drove up another long winding road between impossibly tall old trees most bare but some still holding on to a few leaves with a few tall pine trees scattered amongst them, into yet another small town. It was his second stop today and his twenty first in his overall search. He had been searching for over two weeks now, and that was after taking a few days to adjust to the new time zone but had still found nothing. After reviewing the files from the American aurors that had conducted the search originally, he decided to retrace their steps first. He wasn't convinced that they had actually tried as hard as they could to find Draco. He knew they had been informed that he was a former marked Death Eater but that he had also been mostly aquitted of the charges against him in the trials after the war. Still it seemed that the Americans felt in many ways exactly as those back home did about anyone on that side of the war. That or they just didn't want to be bothered doing the job for the Brits.

Pulling into town he saw a long, low, log building on the left and a white two story house on his right. There were additional buildings on either side of the road including a small store. He hoped it was open; his food supplies were running low and he needed to stock up again. He really didn't want to have to make the drive back to any of the larger towns or the big cities which were even further away. He didn't want to lose that amount of time in his search and he wasn't comfortable apparating in an unfamiliar area even if he could clearly picture his destination. Barely being comfortable apparating back home and only doing it when it was the absolute best option he really didn't want to even try it here.

In the center of town there was a large green, a park it seemed with a small children's playset off to one side. In the middle of the green stood a pine tree that looked to be nearly ten meters tall. Three people stood around the tree looking up. He figured they were planning the decorations as Christmas was about five weeks away. As he watched three women took out wands and began gesturing them through the air sending garland and baubles flying.

Harry relaxed a bit seeing that this was clearly a Wizarding Village. He parked the car, took a quick swig of Polyjuice Potion just in case (he didn't know when he had last taken any and couldn't be sure when it would wear off) and got out of the vehicle. He strolled over towards the green stopping far enough out of the way so that he would not be a distraction to the decorators. He stood mesmerized for several minutes watching everything dance its way onto the tree. There were still times when he was simply amazed at the things that could be done with magic and how wonderful it was. This was one of those times. It wouldn't have mattered how long the decorating took, he would have stood there and watched and enjoyed the entire process.

When the three witches finally lowered their wands, observed their work, made a few quick adjustments, and turned, he said, "That is an absolutely lovely tree. I can't remember ever seeing one quite so large even in the Great Hall in Hogwarts. Do you have them like that at Ilvermorny at the holidays or have you done this here before?"

One of the witches laughed a bit, "We've done this every year since the town was founded. Many of the ornaments have been around just as long."

Another added, "Yes, each family adds an ornament, at least one ornament per year."

"No wonder you need such a large tree," Harry replied.

All three witches laughed. The first witch spoke again, "True our families are not so small and haven't been for our entire history of over two hundred years. Some can't resist adding more than one ornament per year; I fear what we'll do in just another decade, but it does bring joy to us all."

"It does make the town quite welcoming," Harry commented.

"Speaking of," the first witch, a brunette with hair cut short right at her chin, standing about a meter and half tall, looking to be slightly less pregnant than Hermione by her size though he would never have dared to ask or even comment about a possible pregnancy, for all he knew she had some sort of medical condition or had a newborn nearby, said, "How did you wind up here from all the way in England?"

"Actually," Harry said, "I'm on a bit of a mission."

"Do come into the restaurant and tell us all about it," she said.

"Restaurant?" Harry was shocked, he hadn't realized any of the buildings other than the store were any more than houses.

"Well," replied the first witch again, "we do serve food to people in town but it is also a bar so I suppose it would probably better be termed a pub."

"Then I should feel right at home," Harry said, "we have quite a few pubs back home and I frequent my favorite for lunch several times a week."

As they walked up the steps to the long low log building the three witches introduced themselves the short haired brunette was Melinda though she said everyone just called her Mel. The second witch who had shoulder length pale blonde hair and was the tallest of the three if by only a decimeter or so gave her name as Paige, and the third a much older white haired witch grunted her name in such a manner that Harry could not make it out.

Paige whispered to him, "Hope, her name is Hope."

The ladies invited him to the bar. He sat on a stool and looked around. He was surprised that he couldn't see the logs from the inside. At some point someone must have put another layer of wood over them to help insulate the room. The walls instead appeared to be planks stained a dark color but not so dark that the natural wood grain didn't still show through. There were antlers and deer heads on the wall and a large bear standing in the corner. He stared at the bear for a moment trying to decide what kind of bear it was and thought about asking but decided he didn't really want to know what type it was or why it was lurking in the corner.

Hope sat down at one end of the bar summoning her own glass and bottle from the shelf running along the wall behind the bar, filling it, and taking a long drink.

Paige had disappeared into the kitchen, or at least what Harry presumed was the kitchen behind a large swinging door to the left at the end of the bar. Hope sat down at the right end, behind her was a large fireplace with some sort of wild cat mounted above it. Harry wondered if it was connected to the Floo network. If not to the UK maybe he could at least check in with the main California MACUSA office in Sacramento and get a letter sent off to Hermione and Ron, letting them know that he was okay and still searching. It had been a week since he had last talked to them, using the calling card Hermione had given to him. She would be going out of her mind by now. He was actually surprised some owl or two had found him yet. If he didn't contact her soon he could be expecting a Howler.

When he turned back around he noted that Mel had moved behind the bar and stood in front of a very long mirror that reflected nearly the entire room.

"Are you hungry?" Mel asked.

Harry thought about the few coins he had left. He was hungry but this was not an establishment that looked like it would take a debit card. He could possibly leave them with a signed letter to the bank to withdraw funds from his account and place it into theirs but he didn't know how often they went to a larger town.

"Not really," he answered.

"It's nearly lunchtime you really should eat something. You must be hungry. We are a restaurant after all, it's not like you're taking advantage of our hospitality or anything."

"No really," Harry protested, "I have food in my car. I've just been eating as I drive."

"And you've been driving a lot?" Mel asked.

"Yes, the past few weeks," he answered.

"You said you were on a mission," Mel prompted with an expectant look.

"First I should apologize I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm James. An old schoolmate of mine moved here several years ago, to the States that is. Originally he was in New York then he moved out this direction. No one has heard from him in months, no real communication since he moved to this side of the country, so nearly years actually. All I have is that anything he has sent came from Eureka through the regular post."

"And so you're looking for him," Paige said as she came up behind the bar with a steaming bowl and a plate. "Here, searching for someone is hard work. Eat," she insisted.

Harry thought to protest but the chili in the bowl smelled wonderful and his stomach growled. He'd just have to make a side trip back to a bigger town with a wizarding section where he could visit the bank.

"Thanks," he said and dug into the chili then took a large bite from the cornbread that was on the small plate she had placed beside the bowl.

"You need something to drink with that," Mel said, "do you like American beer?"

Harry shrugged, "I don't really know, never tried it."

"Well do they drink beer back in the UK? I mean when your home? I know they drink there. Sorry that was dumb," she said shaking her head, "I swear pregnancy has done something to my brain and sometimes it just doesn't seem to work anymore."

Harry laughed, "It's been the same for my best friend and she's the smartest person I know. It's made her absolutely crazy at times trying to remember things that should come easily. I have on occasion had a beer by the way."

"Glad to know I'm not alone. So what do you prefer light or dark color, heavy on the hops or not, roasty flavored or not, maybe an unfiltered, a wheat beer?"

Harry cocked his head to one side, chewed quickly to finish the mouthful of chili he had just eaten, and thought, "Somewhere in the middle of all that I'd say. Though I can't say I've ever really paid attention."

"What beer do you order when you go to the pub back home?"

"My best mate tends to order a Guiness, but that's a bit thick and heavy for me. I often get a Marston's."

"That's an ale. Ok another question do you drink your beer cold or room temperature?"

"Um cold, wait, people drink beer warm?" he looked aghast at the thought.

She laughed, "Well there is a common thought that everyone in Europe drinks their beer warm but I didn't know if that was true or just a myth so I thought I'd ask. We serve everything here cold. I have known a few people to prefer their beer warm and they weren't European - and warm doesn't mean we heat it up it just means room temperature."

"Ok," he said taking that all in, "well I'll just trust your judgment."

"We don't keep a large selection but I know we have an ale."

Mel grabbed a glass out of one cold box they went to another to retrieve a bottle. She opened the bottle and poured it, then placed the filled glass before Harry, "Here James try this."

He picked it up took a quick sniff then a nice slow drink, "That's good. It's perfect with the chili. What is it?"

"I got lucky," she said, "I'd actually pick a darker, roastier beer to go with the chili but if you like it great. It's Bluff Creek Pale Ale from Six Rivers Brewery down in Eureka. Cooking and beer are more Paige and John's thing. I just help out on occasion."

Harry turned to Paige, "You did the cooking? It's wonderful."

"No," she said, "I mean I help but my husband John does the cooking. We have one maybe two meals each day. He prepares them. We save any leftovers for future use or we package them up and take them out to some of the people that are basically shut-ins. We don't always get a lot of people, usually more on the weekend."

"So do you get any Muggles, I mean NoMajs here?" Harry asked, "I know that there are wizarding villages in England and Scotland that have Muggle repelling charms or enchantments on them and there are others where Muggles and wizards live side-by-side but the Muggles don't know that."

"No, no repelling charms," Mel answered, "we just don't get many visitors coming unless they know someone who lives here, and at least half of those end up staying, just another reason we need such a large tree. Speaking of people coming by that don't know anyone, do you have a picture that schoolmate of yours? You said schoolmate right, or is he a friend?"

"Not a friend," answered Harry as he pulled a picture of Draco from his pocket and laid it on the bar letting his mind drift for a moment thinking of the man and all the time they had spent together at the Manor two years ago, he had thought they were growing closer but… he shook his head and repeated, "no not friends, as a matter of fact we were, I guess you'd call it, enemies, in school."

"Enemies?" Mel raised her right eyebrow, "And you're looking for him? You wouldn't happen to be an auror would you?"

"Yes," Harry said hesitantly then continued in a rush, "but that's not why I'm looking for him. He's not in any trouble or anything like that."

"Then why?" Paige asked.

"I got to know him a bit more after, well after the war," Harry replied, "he and his mother both. His mother is the sister of a good friend. Well, his mother is the sister of the grandmother of my godson. Wow that makes no sense does it."

Mel and Paige looked at one another then back to Harry, "No actually it really does. It's strange but it makes sense. Just takes a minute to work out the relationships. I'd ask about your godson but I have a feeling that would lead to an even longer explanation."

"It probably would, suffice it to say he's in the custody of his grandmother with my helping out whenever she needs it because we lost both of his parents in the war," Harry said as matter of factly as he could.

"How old is he?" Paige asked.

"Teddy is four now, hold on I have a picture of him too," he pulled out the photo and laid it next to the one of Draco on the bar.

Both witches smiled looking down at the small boy zipping back and forth across the picture on an equally small broom his hair brown going one direction and then red going back the other.

"So he was just a baby when his parents were killed?" Paige asked.

"Yes," Harry said, "they both died in the final battle. His grandfather was a Muggleborn that went on the run and was captured and killed."

"How awful," Mel said, the sadness ringing in her voice as she ran her hands over her belly. Paige leaned over and gave her a quick one armed hug, Mel smiled and hugged back.

"Yes, his grandmother raised him by herself for a year, though I helped as often as I could during my training. Not that I was much help," he laughed and rolled his eyes, "since I didn't know much of anything about babies. It's easier now that he's older and can talk to tell us what he wants or what's wrong."

Mel and Paige both laughed.

"Anyway," Harry continued, "Draco's mother is really sick. She fell ill a few weeks ago and the healers can't seem to find anything actually wrong with her. The only thing they are sure of is that she appears to be dying. He's an only child and he's always been close to his mother. Until these last few years that is. He still occasionally sends her little packages of things so obviously he still cares he just doesn't communicate anymore but he deserves to know."

"Well I think it's absolutely wonderful James that you would travel across the world, across another continent to find someone that you didn't always like to give him the news so that he can go home and see his mother if he wants but, and I hate to say this, I don't recognize him," Mel said.

"Neither do I," Paige shook her head lightly, "I'm sorry."

Harry shook his head, "No one ever seems to recognize him at all, nothing about him seems familiar to anyone, but it's so easy to disguise yourself in our world. I really shouldn't be surprised. I knew it wasn't going to be easy."

"You think he might be using Polyjuice," Mel asked.

Harry nodded, "Well it's one thought, I suppose there are other ways he could be doing it."

"I would hope so," Mel replied, "extended long-term use of Polyjuice could be very dangerous. I know that aurors use it periodically for a week or more but there are at least a few cases of people who used it for a year or more that became quite mentally ill, a type of dysphoria and healers either took nearly as long to help them get back to themselves or were unable to. Strange as it is there are even cases of people becoming addicted to Polyjuice potion. I think it's actually a sign of a deeper mental illness that is being ignored. There are people who just do not want to be themselves anymore. It can also be used to help those with gender dysphoria as a first step on the path to a physical sex change."

"She would know," Paige interrupted, "she is our local healer after all and she has a lot of time to read all of the research available."

"If you ever need a healer and you're around here again," Mel said, "I'm usually in that white house across the street. That would be my clinic and potions lab. Paige is right, my nose if often in a NoMaj medical journal or in a parchment reading reports from one of the larger healing centers in the world. Some of the NoMaj raised healers have put forth very interesting ideas on how to combine those methods with magical ones that are naturally being met with resistance but I find most of them to be worth trying."

"She also knows NoMaj first aid and has the only NoMaj phone line around. We use it to call the local NoMaj authorities when they're needed which isn't often but it would be bad not to have a way to contact them, as it is we almost always have to give them very detailed directions because no one knows the town name, and no one can find it. Everyone that comes here knows where it is or seems to stumble on to us as you did."

"What is the name of this little town anyway?" Harry asked.

"Merl's Mount," Hope finally spoke from her seat at the end of the bar.

"Merl's Mount?" Harry repeated questioningly.

Yes, Merl's Mount," Hope said again this time louder and clearer, "back when the town was founded it was Merlin's Mountain, not that we're at the top of the mountain but we come close."

"Merlin?"

"Yeah I would think being a Hogwarts boy you would know who Merlin is," she practically snarled.

"Oh I know who Merlin is," Harry said, "I knew who Merlin was before I ever knew I was a wizard. He does appear in Muggle mythology as well their stories and movies."

"Not raised by witches and wizards huh," Hope said with a raised eyebrow.

"No. My parents died when I was very young. I was raised by an aunt and uncle. My mom was the only witch in her family," Harry had found it easier to change just tiny bits of his story, just enough keep people from realizing that he was Harry Potter and not James Evans as he said he was, it was easier to keep the details straight from town to town in case anyone was talking about the strange visitor from England. He did worry that even that amount of details would scare Draco off if he heard about them but there was only so much he could remember and stay consistent, besides he'd probably just get scared hearing that there was a stranger visiting from England. "So the town, it's on the map?"

All three women laughed.

"Not likely," Mel replied, "we're just too small and honestly most wizarding towns aren't on the map."

"So are you all from here? I mean did you grow up here?" Harry asked.

"Hope and Mel are," Paige said, "I moved here after school with John my husband. He's from here as well. We met at Ilvermorny and I wasn't necessarily attached to my hometown in the southern part of the state so I moved home with him and we just visit my family periodically throughout the year or they come visit us here."

"Just like Jackie came back with me," Mel said, "after I finished my training. It's a theme around here, though there are just as many people who move away after going to Ilvermorny, something about seeing other places in the world bigger places and then there is the fact that most wizarding jobs are in the bigger cities and many don't want to have to use a Portkey or apparate to work daily."

"Well if I pull out the map can you show me where we are so I can mark it?"

Paige and Mel leaned over the large map Harry took from his knapsack and laid across the bar, having pushed aside his beer after a quick drink along with the empty bowl and plate.

Mel pulled the marker from his hand and put a dot on the map for the town also marking it with a small but legible double M.

"Are there any people that live out by themselves? Just out in the woods?" Harry asked.

"Is this schoolmate of yours a loner?"

"He never used to be," Harry said, "At least not when we were younger. He always had at least two people with him, usually more. He was kind of the de facto leader of his group, of the students in our year and younger in his house. Towards the end of school though he seemed to become... I don't know but he was alone more often and after the war the few people he had been friends with in school seemed to all drift away to their own directions. He had lost contact with many of them before he ever came here to the States."

"Is that why none of them are looking for him?" Mel asked not looking up from the map.

"They may have looked or be looking," Harry said, "but they may not know where to start. I'm not sure if he wrote to any of them when he first moved here. I knew he'd moved but I wouldn't even be looking for him except for his mother's illness being brought to the attention of the ministry for an auror to look into, and as I was already in the auror department I volunteered."

"Well," Paige pulled out a pencil and passed it to Mel, "I'm sure between us we can mark several back roads you should check and the ones that you absolutely shouldn't there's quite a few NoMajs in these hills as well and many of them are pot growers who can be very dangerous."

"Pot growers in this area?" Harry was surprised.

"Yeah marijuana use is pretty big here in the States. I don't know about in the UK but here it's completely illegal so it's big business for those that grow it and sell it and they guard their property intensely and viciously. You really don't want to cross them even accidentally," Paige explained.

"Okay so any areas you mark with an X I'll avoid. Are there any other areas that you think I should check out?"

Mel answered, "I know of a few that I've gone out to check on, the shut-ins, people who just never leave their cabins anymore for a number of reasons. There really shouldn't be anyone else in those cabins but you never know and at least I know those are safe places to go and look. It may be that your man was looking for a place to stay and stopped to ask for directions at some point. Michaela should be in shortly you can ask her if you hang on just a few minutes."

"Michaela?"

"She used to be an auror in a big city, Los Angeles I think. They have offices in several large cities, the country is too big to travel quickly even by Portkey from one end to the other so as the country grew so did the government both magical and not. We do still only have a national government unlike the NoMajs though, but we do vote for our representatives to the MACUSA. Anyway she was an auror there for several years but got burned out on it so she moved up here and end up married to my brother Brian," Mel said.

"They're living in the apartment upstairs right now, while they build a house," she continued, "John and Paige live over there in that room off the side. Well it's more than a room, it used to be only a room but besides being an amazing cook John is also quite the builder. It's becoming a whole house at the back end of this place. Jackie and I live out a few miles from here in the house we built. Anyway Mikey's kind of working as our local auror she checks in with the big offices in Los Angeles, Sacramenta, and up in Seattle just to see what's going on then really just kind of spends her days roaming the backwoods checking on people. She makes sure everyone around here is okay, checks in with me if she finds someone needing medical care or with Paige when someone needs food. She also helps watch out for the NoMajs. Dunno how that worked out, some agreement with the local police department who think she was some big city detective. It's amazing to me what the government can pull off when they want to."

"Is there anyone you want to call and check in with while we wait for Michaela to get here?" Paige asked.

Harry shrugged, "I do have friends back home that I'm sure are worried about me, it's been a while since I checked in with them, and I probably should report back the minister."

"You're reporting directly to the minister?" surprise was evident in Mel's voice. "Don't you have a supervisor or are you a supervisor?"

"Oh no," Harry said, "I do have a supervisor. I'm actually one of the younger aurors, too young to be in any position of power yet. I don't even lead a team yet, but since I knew Narcissa, Draco's mother that is, the minister told me about the case and I volunteered. He approved so long as I keep checking in with him and the aurors here. He's keeping in touch with her sister and her healers so I talk to him or message him and he shares the information I found or didn't find with them."

"Well," Paige said, "We have a floo back in our apartment you can use. I don't think it's connected internationally. We've never even tried well except Canada but overseas I don't know."

"That's all right," Harry said, "as long as I can get word to one of the MACUSA offices here they'll pass the message along and next time and I'm going through a NoMaj town I'll use a pay phone there with the calling card I have and check in with them that way."

Paige asked, "Your friends have a phone?"

"And your minister?" Mel added shock again clear in her tone.

"I don't know about the minister," Harry replied, "but I wouldn't be surprised. He is in fairly regular communication with Prime Minister Blair. Ron and Hermione, my friends, Hermione's parents are Muggles so yeah they have a phone. She created a special null Magic Closet in their house for it."

"She must be a very talented witch."

Harry nodded, "So I just go through that door?" He pointed.

"Yes, come on I'll show you."

Harry took another drink of this beer before slipping off the stool and following Paige back into her home. She pointed to a fireplace on the far wall and said, "The floo powder is in little pot on the mantle. Take your time if Mikey gets here while you're on the call we'll fill her in. And you could probably run across to Mel's clinic afterwards and use her phone to call your friends."

Harry took a deep breath and steeled himself before tossing in the Floo powder and beginning his call. He had learned quickly that the aurors here really didn't want to be bothered. They were insulted at acting as his secretary and he couldn't really blame them. They also had to file a full report every time he called so the calls often drug on as they asked what seemed to be ridiculously detailed questions. Whether they did this to try to encourage him to call less frequently or because they really did have to be that detailed he hadn't figured out yet but he was avoiding making the calls as much as possible so if that was their intention they succeeded. He was also pretty sure that they were assigning the Floo to be answered by the newest aurors, the ones fresh out of training or in the final stages of his training; it was the same right of passage he and the others had had to go through back home. By the time Harry had finished his floo call and returned to the main room of the restaurant another witch had joined the previous three along with two wizards.

"There he is," Mel said, "this is James. James meet my brother Brian," she gestured to a tall, somewhat round man who had hair the exact color of hers, and eyes that matched as well, even if she hadn't identified the man as her brother Harry would have been seen the familial resemblance. "His wife Michaela, we call her Mikey and this is John, Paige's husband that does the cooking." John was the tallest man Harry had ever seen, taller than the minister who was as far from short as Kreacher was from being short. John was also broad shouldered. Harry thought he looked like though he could play on an American football team which led him to wondering if the man had ever played Quidditch and if he had just what position. The man's head was also as bald and shiny as a Bludger.

Harry shook hands with each person in turn, "Nice to meet you all."

Michaela, a tall thin witch with red hair hanging in long curls to her waist spoke, "I circled a few more places on your map that might be good places to look. I don't recognize this guy though, sorry. Neither do John or Brian."

"That doesn't surprise me but thanks for looking and thanks for marking my map. It will be good to know where to look and where not to look."

Mikey held her wand in her hand, "Mind if I make a copy or two this picture to hold on to?" she asked. "I can keep one with me to show as I make my rounds. John and Paige can keep one here in the bar to show anyone that comes in."

Harry nodded, "Absolutely that would be great. Thanks!"

"No problem. We'll keep our eyes out for him. We do go to Eureka or occasionally as far as Fortuna. If we see him, how can we contact you? Or do you have a card or something we could give him. Or should be just contact an aurors office and leave you a message that way?"

"You could leave a message for me at the Sacramento auror office, that's the one I check in with. Or can any of you cast the Patronus?" he asked.

"I can," Michaela replied, "it's a standard part of auror training here as I imagine it was for you as well."

Harry nodded, "It is though I had learned it before then."

"The war?" Mikey asked.

"Yes, well before that even. We had dementors guarding Hogwarts my third year. I had a hard time with them so my Defense teacher taught me the theory and helped me try to put it into practice. I wasn't very good at it then but as the years went by I learned to do it easily and can use it to send messages."

"Ok so if it's me that finds something I can send you a message, my patronus is an owl, a barn owl to be more precise," she said.

"Mine is a stag, just in case I need help and send it to you, you'll know who it's coming from. In case it's anyone else though you can just make a note of it here I think I'll be back again to eat at some point too when I need a good hearty meal. Speaking of, what do I owe you?" Harry asked cringing internally thinking he might be about to end up with no money on hand.

"Three Sprinks," Paige replied.

"That's it?" Harry said shock ringing in his voice, "For that big bowl of chili, the cornbread, and the beer?"

"That's it," she said, "We still have people who pay us in meat and produce so it's hard to put a monetary price on things. We end up doing most of the cooking from the food people bring to us it keeps costs low."

"Would you like to use the phone at the clinic to call your friends?" Mel asked.

"Is there a way I can use my calling card?" Harry asked, "I've only used pay phones so far and know how to use it on them."

"I'm sure we can figure it out."

"Then I probably should check in, just to check on Hermione if for no other reason."

"Is she ill as well?"

"No, she's the friend I mentioned that's pregnant," Harry replied, "she and Ron are expecting their first just after the new year. I promised I'd be home by then and the longer I take here the more worried she gets that I won't be home in time."

"Understandable," Mel said, "first babies can come at any time."

"Well then I suppose I'll say goodbye to the rest of you and thanks again for all your help. I'll call and then get on the road and see if I can't check out a few of these places before it gets dark."

"Do you need a place to stay?" Mikey asked sounding a bit worried. "You're not sleeping in your vehicle are you, that can be really unsafe in this climate even with warming spells."

"No," Harry replied, "I have a small wizarding tent complete with heat and I know how to set up Muggle repelling charms around it, but honestly whenever I can I stop in a larger town and stay in a motel."

"If you need," Hope jumped in, "there's an old A-frame cabin not far from here you could stay in while you search this area."

Groans filled the air and the voices of all mingled calling out, "Hope, that place is filthy. It would take more than the usual cleaning spells to get it liveable again. You can't offer that place to anyone. Hope, no, just no."

"All right fine," she grumbled, "but it's there and there's real bed with a fireplace, though it's not a floo."

Mel waved her hand, "Ignore her, if you really get desperate for a place you can stay in one of the rooms in my clinic."

Harry shook hands with each person in turn and said his goodbyes. He then followed Mel to the door, just as they reached it Brian called out, "Is that your Jeep out front?"

"Yes, well it's the one I'm driving," Harry replied, "it's a rental."

"Be careful on these roads, that particular make of Jeep, while not being a bad offroad vehicle, is really not heavy enough for snow driving at least not the amount of snow we get up here layered with ice on these gravel roads; there is little plowing that gets done up here on a regular basis and it's supposed to start snowing soon. It could slip and slide all over the road and I didn't notice snow tires on it."

"Thanks for the advice," Harry said as he walked out the door. Crossing the street he noticed the number of vehicles now parked in front of the bar. He turned to Mel and asked, "Is it usual for witches and wizards to drive here in the States?"

She shook her head, "Not in most places I don't think, or at least not in the big cities, but here it's so easy to get lost even when apparating it's just safer to drive. The trees all kind of look the same you know even when you've lived here your whole life. Not that we don't still apparate sometimes from home to the bar or the clinic but as we aren't set up to repel NoMajs and they do occasionally come in to town. It's safer not to anyway."

"Speaking of, how did you know I was a wizard when I drove in?"

"What do you mean?" she asked as they crossed the street.

"You all must have heard me drive in and yet you took out your wands and decorated the tree that way."

"I could lie and say we have wards that get tripped when a NoMaj drives in, and that has been discussed before it just hasn't happened. I think Hope probably put up some sort of ward right around the tree. She tends to be the most careful of us or maybe just the most distrusting. In all honesty though I don't know, I don't even remember hearing you drive up. Do me a favor though if you come back to town don't let that slip to anyone else, especially Michaela, she'd have our heads."

"No problem," he said, "not a word."

He followed her into the house, and down the hall past shelves of books and files, past two small rooms he took to be examination rooms from the quick glance in noticing the tall bed in each, into what appeared to be her office. The room had still more bookshelves, these filled with parchments, bottles of potions, and jars of potion ingredients.

She pointed to the black rolling chair behind the desk, "You can sit there while you use the phone. Oh wait, I didn't think, what is the time difference between here and your friends? Will they be awake?"

Harry had been reaching for his wallet to find the calling card. He stopped, cocked his head, and chewed his bottom lip for a second, "They're eight hours ahead of us. It's what just after noon here right?"

Mel cast a quick Tempus, "Yep it's twelve twenty three."

"So it should be eight twenty three for them. Hermione may have gone to bed. I know the pregnancy is making her more tired than usual, but Ron should be up."

"Will they hear the phone? How does that work with it being in a closet?"

"Mione put an amplifier on the ringer, if they don't hear the phone I can at least leave a message. They have an answering machine."

"Oh ok, well if I don't see you again before you go be careful."

Harry smiled, "I will. I'm sure Mione will say the same if I talk to her. She makes me promise to be safe every time I call."

"Sounds like a good friend."

"They both are, more like siblings really."

"It's always good to have family."

"It is, thanks!"

She waved as she walked out of the room and back down the hall. When he had heard her close the door he pulled out the calling card and sat down reaching for the phone. Looking at the back of the card he saw that the directions for using it on a residential phone were the same as using it on a pay phone so he dialed and sat back listening to the ring. Part of him really wanted to hear at least one if not both of their voices and the other part was sure all he'd hear from Ron was questions about why he was still there and how much longer this would take and that someone else should be conducting the search. He actually breathed a sigh of relief, letting go of the breath he hadn't realized he was holding when the answering machine picked up. He left them a short message explaining where he was and that he hadn't found anything new but that he had some possible leads thanks to the people in town. He promised to call them again as soon as he could and that he would continue to be safe. Relief mingled with a bit of sadness when he hung up.

As he exited the house he saw John standing on the front porch of the bar with a box. John came down the steps and met Harry at the car.

"Here James, take this with you. Some dinner, it's got a warming charm on it now but you'll probably have to recast it a time or two if you're not going to eat until much later."

"Oh you didn't have to do that," Harry protested.

"If you're going to be out searching the hills," John said, "you're going to get hungry."

"I honestly don't have much money left," Harry confessed.

John passed him the box and waved his hand, "Don't worry man. We take care of each other out here. If you come back by with a few sprinks or dragots you can drop them off, if not we're really not out anything. Take care of yourself and good luck finding your guy."

"Thank you," Harry said. He put the box in the back seat of the Jeep, then climbed into the front seat, took a quick look at the map laying it out on the passenger seat, turned the key, backed slowly out of the space and drove just as slowly around the green looking at the tree. He paused taking one more look at the tree hoping he'd be home in time to enjoy the one that Kreacher would no doubt be setting up in the study in the next week, and the ones at both Ron and Hermione's house and the Burrow. Taking a deep breath he shifted the Jeep into gear again and began driving.


	3. Resting and remembering

As Harry drove, stopping first at one cabin not far down a short gravel drive, not finding Draco there or at the next house he found at the end of a much longer gravel road, the scents from the box began to make his mouth water. After an hour he pulled off the side of the road to consult his map and cast a quick warming spell on the box, his curiosity finally overtook him. He pulled the box into his lap and lifted the lid to find a large bowl with a lid, and smaller rectangular plastic container, and two thermoses one cold and one hot. The large bowl contained a stew of some variety, Harry guessed it was venison as hunting seemed to be a popular past time and method of getting food here, the rectangular container was more cornbread with butter and honey this time, the hot thermos was coffee, and the cold a beer. He recast the appropriate charms on each item, on the coffee after taking a long drink.

He spent several minutes looking at the map trying to decide where to go next and also looking ahead to where he would spend the night. He needed to find a place he could be back away from other people. He trusted the charms Hermione had taught him but still thought it was always good to take extra precautions.

Finally he set the map back down on the seat next to him, casting a quick compass spell and setting the wand down on top of the map to help him track where he was going. Three more stops all leading to absolutely nothing, no leads at all, and he decided to settle in for the night. He found a state park not far from his last stop and on the right direction to the next place the Merl's Mount citizens had marked on his map. He pulled in and drove back to the camping area that was still open. Seeing the signs with the cost he realized that thanks to the inexpensive meal at the bar he had more magical currency left than he had expexted and as he had been eating while driving more often than not from groceries he'd purchased in a NoMaj store he had more non magical currency left than he had thought he would, certainly enough to stay at least one night here and not worry about setting up too many charms. While he was at it he could ask the caretaker if they had seen Draco.

After paying, choosing a spot away from any other campers not that that was difficult this time of year. He chose a site set back into the trees to give him more privacy, and setting up his tent by hand not running the risk of anyone seeing him use his wand to do so, Harry brought the box of food into the tent to set down on the table. This wasn't nearly as nice a tent as the one they had stayed in for the Quidditch World Cup but it was still much nicer than a standard Muggle tent. He still wasn't sure what had possessed him to buy his own tent rather than just use one from the Ministry but it had been fun to check them out a tthe shop.

He had a small kitchenette he could use to cook when he needed it. There was a nice comfortable well cushioned grey easy chair chair to sit in, and a bed with a real mattress and his favorite pillow. He always slept better when he had his own pillow with him. Near the bed sat a small dark mahogany night table with pictures of Ron, Hermione, his parents, Hagrid, his dorm mates in a row everyone smiling and laughing, and the Weasley clan. It was comforting to him to go to sleep there with them in essence watching over him. He sat at the small dining table in the little nook off the kitchenette and savored the stew and cornbread, drinking water from his own supplies choosing to save the beer for the evening while he sat and worked on his plans for the next day and the coffee for the morning.

As the sun set, he walked back down to the caretaker's RV. It turned out there was more than one. He had been greeted by an older gentleman when he pulled into the park to pay. The gentleman was there with his wife. He showed them the picture of Draco asking if they had seen him, giving them a short explanation for why he was looking for the blonde. Neither recognized him which at this point was no surprise to Harry. He thanked them and walked back to his own tent deciding not to bother any other campers right now. In the dark he quickly cast charms to keep the NoMajs from noticing anything odd about his campsite, then he went back into his tent and sat down in his chair with the map.

He only looked at the map for a few minutes before setting it aside and picking up the picture of Draco. He stared at it for a while, watching the other man sit grimacing and then finally smiling just a bit eyes twinkling. Narcissa said she had insisted on taking a picture of him before he came to the States so she would have one to look at as the last picture she had of him was from the fifth year at Hogwarts. Andromeda had made the copy they sent to the American aurors. They had apparently lost that copy or so they had said, so Andromeda had made him a new copy.

Sitting watching the man change expression Harry remembered his first concern about showing that picture to the Muggles he might come across in his search.

Three weeks ago:

"Hermione, what am I going to do? I can't show this picture to anyone but other witches and wizards. Muggles will panic when they see it moving, it would break the International Laws of Secrecy but I can't not show it to Muggles. I'm not going to know if each person I meet is magical or not."

She shook her head, "I don't know, but there has to be a way. Did you ask at work? Ask one of the more experienced aurors? Some of them have had to interact with Muggles on missing persons cases before, they may know."

"No, I don't know if I should ask. They'll want to know why, and I know that Kingsley has told the head auror that I will be on special assignment for him for an undetermined amount of time. Robards wasn't happy about it but there isn't much he can say to complain to the Minister so I just keep getting snide comments from him and some of the older aurors. They're not thrilled that Ron, Nev, and I were able to come into the department without finishing our final year at school and taking the NEWTS. Even being who I am and what I did, what WE did, they don't approve. I think they feel slighted more by Nev and Ron than me but still. We also were able to skip some of the training that they had to go through so they feel even more slighted as do some of the trainees that were in the class right ahead of us, the ones we ended up finishing training with. I try to do as much as I can not to make it worse and asking them for assistance nearly always leads to someone muttering under their breath about how some people are unprepared for the job."

"That's awful Harry. You should tell Kingsley."

"No," he said simply, "it's not worth it. I'd rather just prove I'm worth it, so would Ron and Neville. Besides it's honestly almost nice to have a group of people not falling at my feet for things I really had no choice to do. It's almost like living normally or at least what I think might be normal, it's not like I actually know what a normal life is like."

She shook her head again this time blowing air out through nearly closed lips and rolling her eyes, "Why does this not surprise me? Fine, I'll see what I can come up with."

"Thanks Mione," He gave her a quick hug, "I knew I could count on you."

The next night Harry popped through the Floo calling, "Mione? Ron? I have dinner."

"Dinner?" Ron called back, "What did you bring?"

"Ronald," Hermione laughed, "Does it matter? You'll eat it no matter what."

"I need to know what drink to get," Ron replied as he came in the kitchen where Harry had set up dinner on the table, "never mind."

"Never mind?" she questioned as she came in the door then smiled when she saw Harry hold up bottles.

"Here," he said, "this one is non-alcoholic. I brought fish and chips plus vinegar and ketchup. I also have some really rich gooey caramel brownies with chocolate chunks for dessert."

They sat at the table in front of the fireplace with the food spread out on the paper wrappings discussing their days. As the last chip was dragged through ketchup and popped into Hermione's mouth by her loving husband, who would have eaten it himself had she not been pregnant, but before they could dig into the brownies, Harry asked, "So, did you find anything?"

She nodded and finished chewing then wiped her hands and mouth with a napkin then waved her hand at him, "Give me the photo. I asked around a bit using my Muggleborn status as an excuse, and found out that the aurors typically have two copies of a picture and when in doubt they only show the nonmagical one. But I did some more research and have something I think will work."

Harry pulled it out and handed it over to her as Ron cleared the table and cast a quick cleaning charm on it.

She laid it on the newly cleaned table, took out her wand, and waved it over the photo in what appeared to Harry to be an M shape while she said "Muggelum visum stabilis."

Putting her wand down she stood up from her seat holding the picture and said to Harry, "Come with me. Ron, we'll be right back. Don't even think about eating those brownies until we're back."

"Um ok, where are you going?" Ron asked as he sat forward in his chair furrowing his brow.

She waved her hand as if waving off his concern as she replied, "Just a quick trip to my parents."

"Hermione, you're not going to apparate are you?" Harry grabbed her arm and asked, "I thought that wasn't safe to do while you were pregnant."

"No," she said stepping away from him then leading him into the study and back to the fireplace, "I managed to get a special dispensation for my parents to have their Fireplace active as a Floo with the only connections being to our house and the Burrow."

Harry's jaw dropped, "How did you...never mind, Kingsley obviously."

She smiled, taking Floo powder from its bowl, throwing it in the fire, then taking Harry's hand and pulling him into the fireplace as she said very clearly, "Grangers."

A moment later they landed in her parents living room where Mrs. Granger sat on the sofa reading. She turned to the fireplace surprise evident on her face, "Hermione dear and Harry darling, but where is Ron?" her mother said when she saw them, beginning to stand to come over and greet them.

"He's at home," Hermione replied, "no need to get up Mum, this is just a quick visit. We'll be leaving again in just a minute or two. I'll be by tomorrow for a longer stop though, perhaps we can have tea," she said placating her mother who complained that they never got to see enough of her anymore now that she was married and so busy at work.

"All right then, why the visit?" Mrs. Granger asked as she sat back down and gestured to the sofa and chair indicating that the pair should sit while they were there.

Hermione sat next to her mother on the sofa while Harry took the grey armchair sitting at the end of the coffee table that Hermione proceeded to lay the photo down on in front of her mother.

"Would you please look at this picture and tell me what you see?" she asked chewing her bottom lip a bit and fisting her hands together.

Hermione's mother raised an eyebrow but didn't ask the question they could see on her face. She picked up the picture and looked at it for a few moments before responding, "It's a young man. He must be about your age." She paused looking at the photo closer before turning to her daughter and asking, "Why isn't it moving dear? Aren't these magical photos usually moving or is this not a magical photo?"

Hermione closed her eyes, let out a breath slowly, and then smiled, "It is but it's not supposed to move, or at least this one isn't. Thanks Mum." She reached over and gave her mother an impulsive hug before taking the picture back.

"Yes thanks Mrs. Granger," Harry said standing to leave.

"You're quite welcome dears though I don't understand what just happened," she said standing to walk them to the Floo, then stopping realizing that was not necessary, "What time tomorrow Hermione?"

"About two Mum," she replied as she stepped around the sofa and took a pinch of Floo powder from the small pot tucked behind a family picture taken when she herself was about five that sat on the mantel, "you make the tea and I'll bring something sweet and something savory."

"Sweet?" her mother pursed her lips them smiled slightly the look of a grandma realizing she's about to be able to spoil her grandchild, "oh I suppose one small sweet thing can't hurt."

Hermione paused for a moment, looking at her mother consideringly, then shook her head once and stepped closer to the fireplace.

"Harry don't be a stranger dear," Mrs. Granger said, "you're always welcome to join us for tea or come for Sunday supper with Ron and Hermione."

"Yes ma'am. Thank you," he said as Hermione pulled him to the fireplace.

When the tumbled back into the Granger-Weasley study he grabbed the photo from her hands, "Let me see that. It's moving again. I mean he's moving, or at least he's doing that expression change. How did you do it?"

"I did a little research, there are some spells that can be used to make it permanently still like a Muggle photo but I didn't think that was what you really wanted so I did a little more looking and then well…" her cheeks reddened.

"You created this charm yourself didn't you?" He looked at her with amazement. She never ceased to surprise him with her abilities. She was living proof that Muggleborns were in no way inferior to Purebloods when it came to magical use and practice.

"It's really just a mixture or a blend of other spells," she said. "You'll be able to show this in mixed company even and it will appear still to Muggles while it will still move for witches and wizards."

"You're bloody brilliant Hermione. I have to share this with the whole department when I get back," he nearly shouted as he grabbed her and spun her around before quickly stopping, "oh no, are you ok?"

She laughed, "I'm fine. If you'd done that a few months ago you would probably have regretted it but I'm okay now."

"Thanks again Mione, I need to get home and pack."

"Before you go, I have something for you, just stay here a minute."

She left the room and quickly returned with something held behind her back.

"What do you have there?" he asked only somewhat suspiciously.

"I thought this might be useful while you're traveling," she handed him a knapsack.

Harry looked from the picture in his hand to the knapsack sitting on the second chair at the dining table in the small dining nook of the tent. He smiled, Hermione always took care of him. He hated that he knew she was worried about him but he was enjoying this trip. He was enjoying seeing another country and getting to meet new people, doing it all on his own; enjoyed that while he was on a mission, this time it truly was of his own choice. While he did feel the pressure to find Draco as quickly as possible he also knew that while it was a life and death situation, it was not life and death for all of wizarding kind. Thinking that way occasionally made him feel guilty as he had come to care for Narcissa and knew that Draco would be devastated to miss her last moments but he also knew it would not be the end of the world as he knew it if he didn't find the man in time.

Poppy had told him that Narcissa had sparked up a bit when she was told that Harry was going to find Draco. She was a bit stronger, not really improving but holding steady. He only hoped he could find a real lead so that she would have more reason to continue to hold on. He'd seen that for himself when he'd gone to visit her before coming here.

Harry picked up a quill and the small journal he had purchased to keep a record of his journey and while he finished the last of his beer wrote about the people he had met today. They had all been so welcoming and to James, not Harry. He knew his name was big even here in the States. He had experienced the fawning first hand when he had arrived in New York. There were looks from people on the street and he could tell they were people wanting to say something but not daring to as they were in the heart of NoMaj territory. It seemed so long ago and yet it was only three weeks ago…

When Harry landed at JFK and had gone through customs he worked his way to the receiving area looking around he spotted two gentleman holding up a sign that said Evans. He knew that MACUSA was sending a few people to meet him and that they had been informed of his alias for the trip so he walked slowly towards the men. He wasn't using Polyjuice yet so they should be able to recognize him. When he got within a few feet of them he stopped, and looked around to be sure there was no one else that might be waiting for him. As he looked back the taller of the two gentlemen made eye contact with him and nodded.

The tall man nudged his partner, a man of rather average height, nondescript brown hair, equally nondescript brown eyes, and a face that was perfect for undercover work. Harry couldn't help but think that the man could blend in anywhere which would be nice to be able to do. It was the reason he often slipped off to Muggle London because there he could just blend in. No matter what he did there it was almost relaxing to just be able to blend in, to not stand out.

"Mr. Evans," the shorter of the two men greeted him. "Welcome to New York. I am John Singer and this," he said gesturing to his partner, "is Mark Monroe. We're happy to serve as your guides while you're here."

"Thank you," Harry said.

Mark, who was probably at least half a head taller than Ron was a much more obvious person when it came to appearance, at least in comparison with John. Mark besides being noticeably tall, had a shining shining bald head much like Kingsley. His skin was such a dark brown, nearly black that it appeared to have almost a blue tint, dark brown eyes shone and sparkled in his face.

"Yes Mr. Evans, we're quite happy to have you with us. Do you have any other suitcases or luggage? We can start by going to the luggage carousel and collecting it."

"No. This knapsack is all I brought" Harry replied. "It has what I needed to get here. After I visit the bank I'll need to go to a few stores both muggle and wizardry to buy some new clothes. Oh wait," he said seeing the confusion on Monroe's face, "you call them NoMajs don't you?"

The two men nodded and Mark spoke, "Well then, we can leave straight from here. How long will you be staying in New York?"

Harry looked around at the sheer number of people surrounding them as they worked their way out of the airport and into the parking area unwilling to be overheard saying anything he shouldn't he measured his words carefully before responding, "I'm not sure. I don't know how long it will take to finish my business and then of course there are certainly places that I would like to see before traveling on to the other side of the country. The Empire State building for example and the Statue of Liberty and I'm sure there are other things that you would recommend I see. I'd be grateful for any suggestions; I wouldn't want to miss anything really important."

As they continued their walk both men shared suggestions of possible places to see at first only standard New York NoMaj tourist places but as they worked their way through the parking lot and arrived in the back corner that was quite empty they suggested a few Wizarding places where he might be able to complete the shopping he needed to do as well as places of wizarding importance.

"We're going to apparate now," John told him. "We'll take you side long so we don't lose you. We won't be landing at headquarters as no one is allowed to apparate in or out, but we will be landing just around the corner so hold tight."

The two men stood on either side of Harry and held up their arms bent at the elbows. Harry wrapped an hand around each one and said, "I'm ready."

It took only a second for him to feel the familiar twisting and breath squeezing feeling of apparition. Both men dropped their arms and stepped away from Harry when they landed. He looked around, it appeared they were in an alley between two very tall buildings, behind a dumpster of all things.

"This way Mr. Evans," Mark said with a wink as he gestured to the end of the alley.

Harry couldn't help but look around in amazement as they stepped out onto the sidewalk. He was surrounded on all sides by buildings that seemed to stretch up into the sky. The closest of them he could not see the top. The streets were filled with people and vehicles. He had been in London at its busiest and yet there was something different about the busy feel of New York. He couldn't put a finger on quite what it was, just that it did have a different feel. Maybe it was at that the people here seemed to be in so much more of a hurry than those back home.

A gentle nudge on the shoulder from Mark led Harry to turn to the left and begin walking down the sidewalk. John strode just a few steps in front of them, not so far away that they could lose him but far enough in front them so that Harry could not get lost. Mark walked close to his shoulder, leaning down occasionally and pointing out the various buildings, mentioning their names and sometimes their designers and/or builders.

Finally John stopped and turned to face them. "This is it," he said pointing to the building on his right.

The noise of the city seem to fade in the background as Harry looked up at the building. No longer could he hear the people, the car horns, the engines, or anything else as he stood looking at the MACUSA headquarters.

It was a lot to take in, especially for someone so used to the boring plain facade of the ministry, the building that blended right into the landscape of London. This building instead stood tall and proud. A large stone archway housed the doors. Windows seemed to take up as much space as the stone itself. When Harry looked up he could not see the top which told him that this building was enormous indeed. He wondered if there were as many floors up or more then there were in the ministry that went down. He knew he only had to step to the doors to find out.

As he stood looking at the building sounds began to come back to him but it wasn't the sounds of the horns and the engines just the sound of the people. People saying his name, his real name not his alias. John and Mark must have heard it as well because they stepped in close to him and John whispered, "that's our sign. We need to go quickly before we can't get through the crowd."

There was indeed a crowd beginning to form around them. People looking at Harry, whispering, some moving closer, he began to feel a bit of panic, his heart picked up speed and his breath became shorter and more forced.

"Excuse us," Mark said firmly as he and John fell into lockstep each putting a strong hand on Harry's elbows and proceeding to rush him into the building and practically marched him through what appeared to be a multi story lobby brimming with light from the windows not that Harry could take much in as they were moving so quickly. He felt that his feet barely touched the ground. They led him right past the security with just a wave and a nod and on past the main lift into a back hallway. They didn't stop until they had turned several corners and had reached another lift.

"Sorry about that," John said. "We don't usually manhandle guests like that."

"Or even prisoners," Mark put in.

John laughed and shook his head, "No, not them either. Over all we tend to have better manners but you weren't looking so good and if we'd waited any longer it would have been exceedingly difficult and injuring some of our law abiding but over-excited citizens on the city streets in front of uncountable NoMajs is most definitely frowned upon."

Now that Harry had had a moment to catch his breath he nodded and reassured them, "It's fine gentlemen, completely understandable."

The lift chimed in front of them and the doors opened. It seemed to be only somewhat different than the lifts back home at the Ministry, a small room with ropes hanging from the ceiling for those who felt the need to hold on, a few interdepartmental aeroplanes flew out when the doors opened those these were not pale violet but rather a bold yellow. There were also no enchanted windows.

Harry stepped in and moved to the back wall to grab not the ropes hanging from the ceiling but the rail that went around the room. Unsure of how this lift would actually move he wanted to hold on but didn't want to be obvious about it so he leaned back against the wall as casually as he could resting both hands on the rail and crossing his legs at the ankles.

"President's office," John called out then turned to Harry as the lift began to rise. "Are you okay? You looked like you were on the verge of an anxiety attack out there."

"I'm fine now thank you," Harry said smiling.

"Has that ever happened to you before?" Mark asked, "I don't mean to be rude but I know that some of the healers here have speculated about what the aftereffects of the war might be."

Harry shook his head, "No, I can't say I've ever felt that way before, then again back home I can usually avoid large crowds like that and when I can't I have several places I can apparate to. This time I felt trapped, like there was no way to escape no place I could go."

"That makes sense," John said, "perhaps you should avoid the wizard shops then. I'm sure we can find someone who can purchase clothes for you we only need to know what sizes to buy and any preferences you have in types of clothing. There might even be some here we could simply lend you."

"While you're in with the president we can contact the bank and ask that a goblin come here to attend to your needs," Mark offered.

"Thank you gentlemen, that is incredibly kind of you," Harry said as the lift came to a stop and the doors opened.

"This way," John stepped out and walked down the hall turning the corner to the left just once and walking a short distance they came to the main lift, then turned right and found themselves outside the president's office.

Mark stepped to the doors, "Harry Potter to see President Flerston."

"One moment please," the doors replied.

"You're quite lucky," Mark said, "usually the president receives guests in the Pentagram office. Only heads of state are normally brought to her main office."

Harry felt a bit overwhelmed at the thought but said nothing.

"This is where we leave you," John said, "for now at least. We will see you again later after your meeting so that we can escort you to your hotel and arrange anything else you need."

The doors opened and a voice called out, "Please do come in Mr. Potter."

Harry entered a room in which three of the walls were almost entirely windows, nearly everywhere he looked he could see amazing views of the city. He wondered those if these were real views, while he knew they were fairly high up off the ground he was pretty sure they were not in the tallest building and these views looked out and down on everything else.

"These windows," he waved his hand around, "they are enchanted aren't they?"

The woman behind the large red wood desk laughed, "Very observant Mr. Potter. Yes, yes they are. They can also be used as magical mirrors to communicate with various offices in this building or around the country."

She stepped out from behind the desk and crossed the dark purple rug on the floor to shake his hand, "Welcome to the United States and welcome to New York Mr. Potter."

"Please ma'am call me Harry," he said as he took her hand in his. She was not what he had expected. For some reason he was expecting a witch more like Minerva McGonagall but this woman was younger, petite, and had short closely cropped raven hair, still she had a presence about her. He could easily imagine her commanding attention in any room.

"Very well then Harry, please come sit down. Would you like some tea or any other refreshment?" She led him to a pair of forest green velvety arm chairs sitting on their own smaller purple rug.

"No thank you but it is nice of you to offer," he said as he sat finding the seat even more comfortable than it had looked, "I hope I'm not interrupting your day too much. I really didn't expect you to take time to see me I'm sure you have much more important things to do."

"I always like to meet foreign dignitaries and I know that you don't really qualify as one but I also have to admit to having a bit of a personal curiosity," her cheeks flushed a light pink and she didn't meet his eyes turning instead to pour herself a cup of tea from the pot sitting on the small octagonal table that sat the left of her chair, "I wouldn't mention it except I am aware of what happened at our doors and I wanted to apologize to you for that and I also felt it would be best to be forthright."

Harry smiled when she turned to look at him again, peering at him over the rim of her cup, "I appreciate that. You had no way of knowing what would happen and the two men you sent to guide me did an excellent job getting me here."

"I feel as if I should have known. While there were no major battles here as there were in the United Kingdom we did have some small skirmishes. Voldemort," she said the man's name with just the smallest of winces, "did have followers here as well. There was a general feeling of concern and fear that he would win and come this way next. We had just finally come to an agreement to send a contingent of our best aurors to assist you all in fighting him when word came that it was all over. So while your name is much bigger in the UK it is known here and there are people who would like to thank you for all you did to save wizarding kind, myself included."

Harry dipped his head. He just never knew how to respond to comments like this, it wasn't as if he'd been incredibly brave and charged into battle. He'd simply done what only he could do. Fortunately there was no need to respond as the president continued speaking shortly.

"I also asked to meet with you so that I could personally apologize for our failure to find your missing person."

Harry sat forward in the chair and reassured her, "I understand. It is quite possible that Draco doesn't want to be found and has done whatever he can to keep that from happening." He left it unsaid that he also knew that he was more motivated to find the man than the aurors here and was more likely to be able to track him simply from the years he spent observing him at Hogwarts.

"You have the files our aurors put together with their reports correct?"

"Yes," he nodded, "I spent time on the plane reviewing them."

"If you would like I can arrange for you to speak with them."

Harry shook his head, "I don't think that will be necessary their files were quite complete and detailed. I would like to speak to his potions master if possible though. They would have spent a great deal of time together and while I know your aurors interviewed her and there really is nothing more I can think to ask I'd still like to meet her."

She set her teacup and saucer back down on the table next to her, rose, and moved to her desk, "I can certainly arrange that. She lives in a small town upstate though we may not be able to provide a portkey until tomorrow and I know you'd like to begin your search as soon as possible, will that be a problem?"

"No, not at all. I planned on spending a few days here to get my bearings. I know that the time changes again as I head west but that should be an easier adjustment to make than the one from London to here. As a matter of fact I don't want to be rude but I am suddenly feeling really tired and would like to get some rest. Mr. Singer and Mr. Monroe said they would be taking me to a hotel. Would it be okay to go now or is there anything I need to do here first?"

"No, there is nothing else we need. You have your paperwork all in order obviously as you made it through customs so I see no issue with you going to rest now. I'll send word when I've contacted Ms. Masters."

"I'm sorry Ms. Masters?" he repeated unsure if he had heard correctly.

"Yes," the president nodded while continuing to write, "Ms. Masters is the witch Mr. Malfoy trained with."

Harry snorted and then found himself giggling. He bit his lip and ducked his head as he tried to get control. Finally he looked at the president to see a look of utter confusion on her face, "I apologize ma'am I really am tired and something about Ms. Masters the potion master really caught me as funny. I'm really sorry," he said as he bit back another laugh.

Understanding dawned and a slow smile spread across Flerston's face, "I can see how that would be amusing. Somehow I've not thought of it before. Mr. Monroe and Mr. Singer should be waiting for you in the hallway once again. Should you need anything they will give you their contact information and while you are on this side of the country they will be there to assist you."

"Thank you again ma'am," he said rising and moving to shake her hand again, then having done so he left the room and found the two gentlemen waiting for him.

They did exactly as they had offered, taking him first to a room where a goblin waited to exchange money for him, they then took him to his room in a NoMaj hotel near wizarding New York should he decide to venture there when he awoke. They also with his permission went to the shops and came back with several outfits he could wear in either his own or his polyjuiced bodies.

Before they left him at Sharnell Masters house in Sayre he took time to apologize to them from pulling them away from their normal duties.

"It's nothing," John said waving his hand.

Mark agreed, "It really is, but it is nice to be appreciated."

"What do you do?" Harry asked. "Are you aurors?"

"We were once," Mark replied and left it at that.

Harry wanted to ask but wondered if they would be allowed to give any more details and also wondered if they were perhaps the States equivalent of Unspeakables. He decided not to say anymore simply saying goodbye when they had arrived at their location and the men left him with the potions master.

Harry came back out of his memories to find the quill had dropped from his hand to the floor. He picked it up and continued making notes about the search.

Anytime Harry had stopped somewhere for a meal or just to walk around a town he asked everyone he could about Draco, showing the picture he looked for signs that one of the men he saw might just be the man he was looking for in disguise. He actually had no doubt that Draco had in some way changed his appearance but he had no way of knowing how or how much. His thoughts down for the day, his plan set for tomorrow including a stop in a larger town to resupply and contact the bank to send him dragots and sprinks as soon as possible. He thought he'd have the owl deliver the package for him to the bar there in Merl's Mount. It would give him an excuse to stop in and visit and get more of John's wonderful cooking, plus he could leave some of that money there and maybe take the chance to use Mel's phone again.

With all of that settled Harry quickly brushed his teeth, changed into a comfortable pair of sweats, and crawled into bed.


	4. the search continues

The next morning when Harry awoke the tent felt colder than it had before. He took a quick look outside to find fine white flakes falling from the sky. He packed up quickly, grabbing the coffee, hitting it with a quick warming charm, and drinking it while eating a protein bar from his supplies. He took the tent down as quickly as he could. Then with his wand held in his long sleeve and after peering every direction to make sure no one was watching wordlessly removed the enchantments he had placed on the site, doing his best to make it look like he was just doing some morning stretches.

He packed everything back into his Jeep and set off to his next stop. He visited three cabins that day finding no leads before making his way back to Eureka in the afternoon, stopping in at the wizarding store on the edge of town to contact the bank, arranging to have the money sent to that little wizarding store deciding he'd rather have it with him before going back to visit Mel and the others, having dinner in a small greasy spoon diner, and then settling into a motel room for the night so that he could shower and watch the telly for a while. American tv was strange. The humor was so different from British tv, or at least it was to him. He was glad to be off the road. While the Jeep handled fairly well the tires did slip some on the freshly wet and slightly icy roads, though he acknowledged that that could be his driving skills and not the car itself.

The next day he woke to large flakes falling from the sky. He stopped again in the wizarding store picking up a few more things along with his money then he made his way back up to Merl's Mount, taking a different road into town this time and stopping occasionally to take pictures with the camera he had stashed in his bags, so as to better look like a tourist to the Muggle authorities at the airport. He hadn't actually planned on taking any picture but the snow amongst the trees was just too beautiful to pass up, as was the view from the overlook just before turning to drive the last few miles into town.

At the overlook he stopped to take a drink of the Polyjuice potion having let it lapse while he drove that morning. After Mel's warning about the perils of overuse he had been drinking it less often. He had spent the evening in the motel as himself, occasionally looking in the mirror to remind himself that he really was himself. It wasn't that it was that hard, he had chosen hair from a Muggle in London that looked fairly similar to him from the Ministry stores. The man had slightly darker brown hair, that was curly rather than the mess normally on top of Harry's head. He had green eyes and did wear glasses, though Harry discovered they were not real glasses after he changed the first time. The man was also a good ten centimeters taller and a touch thinner or lankier. Harry had put on some muscle from the physical training to be an auror. This of course meant that he had had to pack two sets of clothes but thankfully the knapsack made that easier to deal with. He just had separate bags in it for each set. Each time he put it over his shoulder or threw it in the backseat he marveled again at the lack of weight. There was so much packed in it, it should have weighed a stone or more, the weight should have been noticeable but it was feather light.

The first few times Harry had used Polyjuice Potion first with Ron as Crabbe and Goyle to get into the Slytherin common room and then with Ron and Hermione to get into the ministry, he had been so distracted he hadn't really noticed many of the changes and how they felt. As part of the typical auror training they had to practice doing undercover work in a variety of ways, not just using Polyjuice, but it was the Polyjuice session that was the most disorienting. He couldn't say he was used to it now but it was easier than it had been. During the two week session of training he and the others had all had to become around thirty different people, random samples from Muggles taken around the UK and kept in a storage facility somewhere in the Ministry. Harry had asked and found that each sample was dated and had a location marked on it so no auror would accidentally use a sample from the area they were completing an investigation in.

It wasn't just the fact that the changes that were made so quickly that made it disorienting, it was things like the first time he had to polyjuice himself into a woman. He and Ron both did it at the same time and when their breasts began to grow, they looked down in amazement and in shock both had slowly reached up to feel the new growth and then realizing what they were doing, dropped their hands embarrassed. Neville stood next to them cackling, well they knew it was Neville as he was in the same location as before but he had turned into a young boy. As he had once been a young boy he wasn't bothered as it wasn't so strange.

While in the disguise of each of those people they were required to perform a number of tasks, rather simple tasks such as walking and sitting but those changing the physical characteristics that many used to identify gender were required to try using the bathroom. Now that had been an interesting experience, one he preferred not spending too much time thinking about. Ron had asked why they were required to change into another sex and was informed that due to the limited number of active aurors there was always a chance that they might not have someone fitting characteristics needed for a particular investigation so they all needed to be prepared.

After spending some time in a female form and returning to his own then to a different male form and sitting down Harry wondered just what Hermione and Fleur had felt like disguised as him to help him escape his home. He made a note to himself to give them each a special gift that Christmas. Sitting on a thestral with parts you were not used to, had to have been somewhat distracting in their flight and they both made it; they had both stayed safe, had kept their calm. He was amazed. When it was Neville's turn to become a woman Ron and Harry laughed just as hard as he had while they watched him try to resist the urge to explore the new body and turn several shades of red when he realized what he was doing.

The first day Harry had spent searching, he had resisted all urges to go to the bathroom until he was able to be himself again. He was going to make a suggestion to the auror training unit that no matter the physical characteristics, all trainees be required to make that attempt multiple times throughout the polyjuice session. It had taken him three days to become comfortable enough in the body that wasn't quite his to follow natural instincts and simply go to the bathroom when he felt the need. Every time he tried the first two days he had felt as if it was his hands on someone else's body even though they weren't his hands when he looked at them, maybe because he used his hands so much more they felt like they were his.

It felt wrong, a violation in some way even if the original person would never know that it was happening. It also left him wondering about the ethics and legality of becoming another person without their permission and decided that that was something he would have to ask about. He knew Barty Crouch Jr had been charged with impersonating an auror even though Mad Eye had been a retired auror. Harry found it interesting he hadn't been charged as simply impersonating a wizard or impersonating a professor as that was what Mad Eye was supposed to be doing thing. He wondered if those impersonation laws applied to the general wizarding population or if they applied to Muggles. He would have to ask when he returned, maybe that was something that needed to change even with the care taken to not be in the same area of the country as the Muggle the sample came from. Which led to him wondering if they somehow tracked those Muggles in case they moved or died. What would happen if you were in the disguise of someone who had died and came across a friend or relative of theirs? Overall Polyjuice potion use was creating more and more questions for him. He made a note to practice more those other methods of disguises, maybe look into Muggle ways to disguise himself for future use, overall those wouldn't feel so ethically hinky.

As Harry drove into town he was greeted once again by the large tree. He wondered what they did to light it. It was quite tall to put candles all the way up near the top and quite dangerous as well here in the woods but he supposed they had some method to make it sparkle like Christmas trees often did and he doubted it was electrical, though considering that there was always the possibility of NoMajs arriving in town he could be wrong. Maybe they used bluebell fire. He'd have to ask later if he remembered.

There was no one out on the green or anywhere else in town that he could see when he pulled up and parked at the bar, but there were three or four other large sports utility vehicles in parking spaces down the road some by the bar and some across the street by the clinic.

Harry checked the rearview mirror quickly to make sure that he was in disguise. He no longer felt the Polyjuice take effect so it had become a habit to look in the mirror before opening the door each time he got out of the car. He quickly noted the small changes, then grabbed his wallet and his map and headed into the bar.

Hope was once again sitting at the far right end of the bar. As it was afternoon Harry noted she once again had a glass and a bottle sitting with her however this time she also had a plate with a large sandwich and pile of chips. The sight made Harry's mouth water.

Paige came through the kitchen door and smiled when she saw Harry, "Hey welcome back. Any luck with your search?"

"I guess that depends on how you look at it," he responded, "no luck finding Draco, but I have been able to check some places off so I know where not to look."

"Now that's surprisingly optimistic point of view," she said, "Are you here for lunch?"

Harry nodded, "Yes, and I thought I'd go across and see if I can use Mel's phone again."

"You go ahead and do that then," Paige said, "and I'm going to get a plate ready for when you come back. We made a large roast last night but had very few people come in so we have plenty of leftovers. We're turning them into some pretty piled high roast beef sandwiches. Do you want yours hot or cold?"

He only thought for a fraction of a second before answering, "Hot sounds wonderful."

He laid his map, pencil, and marker on the bar then turned and headed back across the street. When he climbed the steps he noticed a sign he had missed the last time "open, come on in" and so he did just that. This time he took in the small waiting area. There were a few plastic chairs with cushions that hardly looked comfortable at all off to each side and a display of muggle magazines on a table. He supposed this was needed as a cover should any NoMajs arrive. There was a small sign on the wall that read "Melinda Miles Healer." He imagined if any non magical people came in they would see a sign that said "Melinda Miles, Doctor." He wasn't sure what to do to get her attention so he waited a moment. He looked around the room for a bell or something and saw nothing. He was just about to call out when he heard Mel call down the stairs, "I'll be right there."

"No rush," Harry replied, "I just came to see if I could use your phone again."

Mel came down the stairs with a smile. They exchanged the same question and answer that he had with Paige about the search.

"Well no one has come through that recognized him and Mikey didn't meet anyone yesterday that recognized him either but she should be back in town shortly for lunch. You're just in time you know I was headed across the street for lunch myself. You go ahead go on back and make the call and I'll make sure we both have food."

"I stopped in there before coming here," he said, "since it is lunchtime and I wasn't sure where I find you and I am hungry."

"Oh you must have been to the bank and refilled your wallet. You seem much more willing to eat today."

Harry could feel his cheeks flush, "Was I that obvious?"

"Only to one used to seeing patients and looking for any clues in their behavior of the underlying issue. You'd be surprised how often someone is afraid or embarrassed to tell me what is really going on. So I've become fairly adept and picking up on smaller signals. I'm not sure anyone else would have picked up on it. They probably just saw it as nervousness in meeting a whole bunch of new people all at once."

"Well thanks," Harry said, "oh would you tell Paige no beer this time please. With the snow on the road I'd rather be completely sober while I'm driving. I don't want to have the slightest bit of alcohol in my system, just in case."

"Very responsible," she commented, "and very smart. I'll let her know. I think they usually have fresh-made lemonade would that be good or would you prefer coffee?"

Harry cocked his head to one side considering, "How about both?"

"Sounds perfect to me. I'll tell her."

"Thanks."

He turned and walked down the hall to Mel's office as she went out the front door of the clinic. He went through the now familiar procedure to use the calling card and waited while the phone rang on the other end hoping this time they would answer. He was even prepared for Ron's questions.

"Hello," came Hermione's voice, "Harry is that you?"

"Yes, it's me."

"Oh Harry, I'm so sorry we missed your call the other night. I'm just so tired. Some days are so much more exhausting than others now. So I went to bed early and Ron was doing some research he says but I have a feeling he was watching the telly, it's such an utter distraction for him."

Harry bit his lip trying not to laugh thinking she was just as bad when it came to books, "S'alright Mione, I figured you were in bed and we both know how oblivious Ron can be at least when he's not at work needing to be observant."

"How are you?" she asked eagerly.

"I'm fine. How are you and little Rose. She's not going to make an early appearance is she?"

"Some days I wish she would," Hermione said, "being pregnant is so tiring and I'm ready to see her little face and hold her in my arms. Then other days I just hope she doesn't come until she's supposed to or even a little late. I'm not sure we're ready. I mean we have all of the baby stuff we need. We have nappies and a bassinet and a crib and clothes and well you get the idea, but are we really ready? Will I know what to do with a baby? I'm an only child and I never babysat. Ron is one of the youngest two of seven, he was too young to ever have to take care of Ginny. I'm worried we'll do something wrong."

"Hermione you're going to make wonderful parents. As ridiculous as Ron can be and as distracted as he can be he had an excellent example of how to be a parent, as did you. I know things have changed some since we were little but I think you'd still be safe in the long run asking yourself what your mum and dad or Molly and Arthur would do."

"True our parents are all pretty amazing,' she admitted. "Did I tell you? My mom and Molly are going to come spend a week with us each after Rose is here."

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Harry tried to keep the skepticism out of his voice. They had all heard the stories from Bill and Fleur about Molly's visit after Victoire was born. Molly had tried to take over the house and do things in her own way rather than the way that Fleur did them or wanted them done. She was full of good intentions but claimed with all of her experience as a mother, she did have seven children after all, that she knew what was best and they would see that in time.

"I've always gotten along better with Molly than Fleur does," she said.

"Well that's true, other than the time she thought you were breaking my heart and you are much more likely to speak your mind."

"Hey," she nearly shouted.

"I don't mean it in a bad way. I just mean you won't let her roll right over you doing whatever she wants. Fleur has always been more afraid to speak up since Molly didn't like her to begin with, so she didn't want to anger or upset her after they were married and possibly lead to more problems in the family."

"True," she acknowledged, "now tell me what's going on with you. Have you found him? I'm guessing not or it would have been the first thing you told me, not that I really gave you a chance? Except that I did ask you how you are and if you'd found him I would think you'd be happy about that and tell me then-"

"Mione," Harry interrupted; he had heard her go off on tangents before but it seemed to get worse the more stressed she was and right not she was obviously very stressed.

"Sorry, tell me everything."

He laughed at the image in his mind's eye of her sitting with cheeks flushed, biting her lip, "No there has been no sign of him no one ever recognizes him in the picture. I really think he is in disguise at this point, so now I'm searching the back roads one house or cabin at a time. It hasn't been so bad, the last two days especially since I found this little wizarding village."

"Merl's Mount," she said, "I tried to do a little research but I couldn't find anything on it though. It's really not on any maps not even wizarding ones of the U.S."

"It's not much bigger than a dot even, not on the map just in size." he said, "There's maybe ten buildings in the town proper. I think they call themselves a town but the majority of the people who would say they're residents live a few miles or more out of town and they don't seem to have any local government in any form, but they've been very helpful," he explained in more detail what happened on his first visit to town two days before. He told her about all of the people and how they had given him ideas of where to look and not to look.

"Sounds like you found a wonderful place but probably one he would have avoid," she commented.

"I wonder if he's ever even been through here I guess when I find him I can ask."

"And if you don't find him Harry?" she asked though quietly. "I hate to even say that, but what if you don't find him, at least not in time."

"I don't know," he replied, "I'm trying not to think of that. Last I heard Narcissa was holding on."

"The healers refuse to give an estimate on how much time she has left though. She could take a sudden turn for the worse. You really do need to have a plan. You also need to decide how much longer you're going to keep searching."

"I've only been here a few weeks Mione."

"Is that Harry, let me talk to him," Harry heard Ron say as if he had just come up behind Hermione, then he heard some shuffling as they moved around the closet and Ron took over the phone. Harry could picture them as clearly as if he was sitting there with them, Ron in the chair with Hermione in his lap one arm wrapped around her and both of hers resting on her belly. "Hey mate any luck finding the ferret?"

"Ron," Harry rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Just teasing, how much longer are you going to be though? You're missing out on some good cases here."

"You'll have to tell me about them another time. I ordered lunch across the street and it's probably getting cold," Harry said trying to cut Ron off before he got started. Once Ron started talking about cases he could talk for an hour without stopping. It wasn't that Harry didn't enjoy discussing their job, he just didn't enjoy it nearly as much as Ron did. He'd lost track of the number of times he and Neville had looked at each other at lunch at the Leaky silently trying to come up with a plan to get out. It had almost become a competition between the two of them to see who could leave first as the other would wind up stuck. Ron was none the wiser too intent on hearing himself talk.

Harry had the thought suddenly that he was going to owe Neville the chance to escape multiple times when he returned and they all ate lunch together again, at least as many weeks as he'd been gone which meant he'd be stuck listening to Ron until they had to return to work. Maybe he'd get lucky and Rose would be born by the time he went back. That way Ron would be off for a few weeks as he was taking a week or two to stay home with Hermione, though he wondered now if that would be before or after their mothers each visited, probably after. He'd heard that new parents were often exhausted though so maybe Ron would be too tired to talk. Plus he figured it would be better to hear about baby Rose and every little thing she did, or whatever his mother or mother-is-law said or did than the cases they worked day in and day out. All this ran through his mind fairly quickly so he wasn't really listening to what Ron, then something Ron said caught his attention.

"Wait, what did you just say?" he said suddenly.

"What, you weren't listening," Ron complained.

"Sorry," Harry said not really sorry at all, "I was thinking about my lunch just waiting for me, it's been hours since I ate breakfast. Anyway, what did you say?"

"I have no one to talk to at lunch or really the rest of the day," he was practically whining.

"Where's Neville?" Harry asked, thinking his other friend must be on to something.

"I don't know. He's working on some project. He has some separate assignment from me and he's got to do a ton of research. He's been spending all his time in the ministry library going over files and then going out and talking to people."

Harry said, "Oh you mean he's actually working?"

Ron complained again, "I resent that."

Harry laughed, "You do realize at some point you're going to be on a stake out somewhere and have to stay quiet right?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Ron said, "I can do that. You know I can."

"Yes I know, but maybe you should practice those skills in the office more often, remember how we were told in training to listen more and talk less. Now I have to go. Give Hermione my love. I'll call again when I can and I promise to be careful," he said before either Ron or Hermione could chime in from the other end.

"Alright mate, talk to you soon."

Harry shook his head and laughed again as he hung up the phone. As he stepped outside the clinic he noticed several more cars were parked in front of the bar. It seemed to be much more busy today than they had been two days ago; he only hoped his food was still warm. That he supposed, was a dumb thought, Paige had probably either waited to make his plate or used a warming charm on it. It wasn't really a surprise him not thinking of the charm though, after all he had been spending a lot of time in NoMaj restaurants, cafes, and diners where you really couldn't let the food get cold. Then he chuckled quietly to himself as he realized Ron hadn't said anything about warming charms either to keep him on the phone. He would have argued as he always did though that he could swear he could taste the difference between freshly cooked food and food that had been reheated in any way whether it was magical or Muggle. It didn't make it inedible, just different and he was never quite able to put into words why.

He took his place at the bar pushing aside the map he had left there earlier. He found himself sitting right next to Mel as she enjoyed her lunch. Paige cast a quick charm on the plate that she had behind the bar and placed it in front of him.

"We thought you might be awhile," she said.

He nodded, "I could have been longer but I managed to cut off my best friend before he could start telling me a dozen stories about work and what I'm missing. I get enough of those when I'm home I don't need them right now."

"Oh one of those," Mikey asked and raised an eyebrow with a sparkle in her eye letting Harry know she was just kidding around, "I know how that is, some people are nothing but work. They live it, even when they have a life outside of work they still think and talk about it. It does get tiring after time doesn't it."

"It's so odd," he replied, "he was never like that in school. Then he barely did the work unless Hermione was annoying him about it, or annoying us about it, I wasn't much better to be honest. I mean I worked for the classes I enjoyed but when it was a class like History of Magic or Divination...well I say that but making up answers for Divination was actually fun. Still now that we're working it's all he wants to talk about."

"Well when people find something they're passionate about," Mel commented between bites, "they can get a bit overboard."

"True," he said, "but I don't really have to worry about that right now so I'm going to eat."

"While you do," Michaela said, "let me see that map for a second."

Harry nodded and gestured with his elbow towards the map on the bar as he took a giant bite from his sandwich then hummed in appreciation; the soft thick homemade bread, roast beef, gravy, and swiss cheese all melted together-- and exploded with flavor in his mouth.

Michaela unfolded the map found the dot that Mel had used to mark Merl's Mount, picked up the pencil, and began to trace lines and mark off places.

"I stopped and talked to a few people since you were here. Everyone denied knowing the man in the picture but there was one," she broke off looking as if she was trying to decide what exactly to say next, "well let me let me tell you about it you'll probably have the same feeling I did auror training and all."

Harry finish chewing quickly, swallowed, took a small drink of his lemonade, and then responded, "I don't know, you have a lot more experience than I do right now. I mean I've only been at this for three years so practically anyone would have had more experience than me unless it's a new trainee."

"Smooth James," Mel intoned, "very smooth way to not call someone old."

At that Harry could feel his cheeks flush again, "I really didn't… I didn't mean… I" he stuttered and the ladies all laughed.

Finally he sighed, face aflame, "Just tell me."

Michaela had circled a spot on the map, "As I was driving around yesterday I remembered that there had been an old wizard shut in, living in a cabin by himself. He never came to town, at least not in years before I even got here and certainly not after I moved here. We always had to take food and supplies to him. He was a gruff old guy but he was polite. The last time we visited he said we wouldn't need to come out anymore, that he was taking on a roommate though where that person was going to live I don't know. It's not like there was room to spare in that little cabin. Anyway, he said the roommate would do the shopping from then on, but we never saw the guy. He must have done the shopping in Eureka or somewhere else, a bigger town.

"Which makes sense," Paige interjected, "we do our own shopping in bigger towns."

Mikey nodded, "I had not been back since old Raleigh said not to bother coming out to check on him but I still wanted to anyway. Mel went instead."

"I had more of an excuse, wanted to check on his health since it had been quite a while since I'd seen him or gotten an owl from him. It was about a year ago and this guy, must have been the roommate, said that Raleigh had died and left him the cabin but he wasn't sure that was legal and wasn't sure who to ask so he was going to stay there until he was told otherwise. He showed me a note Raleigh had left behind with him saying he had owled the bank to let them know to transfer ownership to Austin, that's his name, the roommate that is. So I told him that was fine if we heard anything about anybody else having any rights to the land or the cabin we would let him know. I contacted the bank and discovered that Raleigh had indeed sent them a letter to transfer the deed to Austin before he passed, they had even sent a goblin out to witness him writing a second letter that they have on file."

Harry nodded as he continued eating knowing that the ladies would get to the point eventually but hoping that they would get there a little more quickly and not wanting to say anything or show any impatience as they were being helpful after all.

Mikey continued, "I don't think Austin's the name he's always used and I don't really know why, there was just something about the way he said it, it felt as if he had to think for just a split second before answering. I've never heard any complaints about him. I didn't even think about him being up there when you asked the other day, it wasn't until I was on the road that I remembered that there are two or three other old witches and wizards living up there by themselves to and another two or three NoMajs. It really wasn't even his name or even the way he said it that got my attention. I mean I noticed it but that was more of an an afterthought as I was replaying the conversation in my mind," she explained. "When I showed him the picture there was something in his eyes, something about the way they narrowed just a touch as he looked at it and his denial was just little too firm not excessive just a bit too...I don't know it's hard to explain. Whatever it was was momentary as well. I'd think I was imagining it but…"

"But you do have experience with people and reading them," Harry said, "and some people are better at that than others anyway."

"Yes," she agreed, "Reading little body language signals is something I was fairly good at when actively working whereas I might miss something in a scene I was reviewing, fortunately my partner was the opposite, probably why we made such a good team. Anyway, I marked the place here and I'll draw on the roads to show you how to get there because he either knows something or he is your missing man."

"He always was sneaky in school," Harry said, "he got away with stuff that most people couldn't. At the time I thought it was just because his head of house covered for him, his head and his parents were old friends. Then there was his father who would have had a shite fest and found a way to blame someone else for things he did. He regularly did just because he could but maybe he was just that sneaky. It's an interesting thought. Anyway, you marking the roads on the map for me should make traveling in these backwoods easier."

"That it would," Michaela agreed.

Harry finished up his lunch, thanked Paige again, asked for a thermos of coffee for his drive, and leaned over the map with Michaela while she showed him how to drive to the cabin. She made him repeat the directions back to her including the landmarks she had mentioned, specifically the old wooden fence that would appear on the right just before the last turn.

"You sure you're ok driving up here in the snow? How much do you drive back home?"

"I don't drive much at home but I did get several days practice with a Muggle driving instructor before I left, mainly just to learn to drive on the right side of the road rather than the left. I did ask for an automatic. I drive a manual transmission at home but I thought trying to do that on an unfamiliar vehicle using my right hand instead of my left in an area I don't know with the possibility of snow and ice was just one too many variables.

It's been alright; better before the snow but I just try to drive slowly, not so slowly that I start sliding backwards but slowly. It's earned me a few honks and hand gestures from people flying around me but I'm not going to start driving in a way I'm not comfortable with to make the locals happy, sorry."

Michaela laughed, "Don't apologize, better safe than sorry. If you happen to get pulled over by a NoMaj officer for driving too slow, and it could happen, just explain it to them the way you explained it to me and while you're at it if they ask why you're here say you're here to visit me. I have a brother about your age, Josh, you can be penpals from when you were in school and you're meeting him here for a week of guy time under the supervision of big sister."

"Ok," Harry replied, "Josh, good old Josh, he wrote the funniest letters about your family-"

"Cat," she filled in, "we did have a kneazle named Fea, and Josh loved that annoying little furball."

Harry laughed, "I'll avoid too many details. Actually I think I'll just try to avoid being pulled over."

"Good plan," she said.

Paige filled a thermos of coffee and handed it over the bar to Harry, "Stay safe and warm."

"I will," he said and laid a few dragots on the bar not even asking how much he owed this time. He had plenty to spare. This money had come from his personal account not from the ministry. He was feeling kind of guilty for lying to these people about who he was. Maybe someday he would get the chance to come back and explain but for now he thanked them again for all their help and headed out to his jeep.

He sat in the front seat, with the map unfolded looking carefully at the roads he would need to take and replaying Mikey's instructions in his head on how to get there. He finally set the map folded just so he could see what he needed to see at a quick glance in the passenger seat beside him, pulled out and began the drive.

Mikey had said the drive would take about an hour at least in these conditions. Harry knew it would take him longer as he just wasn't comfortable driving quickly in the snow like he had told the witches; he drove fast enough to maintain forward progress but not much faster than that. There had been a time or two since the snow started that he could feel the tires lose their grip on the road when he sped up just a touch too much. It hadn't taken him long to find the sweet spot when it came to speed. He thought about turning on the radio to find music as background noise while he drove, not that he minded silence but after some time he missed having background noise, however he had quickly found out the first day in the woods that there wasn't much reception up here amongst these giant trees so it wasn't really worth it. The songs playing and cutting out then picking back up randomly was more annoying and distracting than the silence so left the radio alone.

He found the first two roads and made the first two turns easily, then he pulled off to the side to check the next few steps and discovered he had only two more turns to make. He found the first one on the left and made the drive looking for the wooden fencing that Mikey had mentioned but he couldn't see it anywhere; it was probably buried in the snow. It wasn't long before he realized he had gone too far so he carefully turned the car around and headed back. He once again missed the turnoff to the road though he didn't realize it until he had made it all the way back to previous road. So again he carefully turned around and began going in the other direction wondering if he really hadn't gone far enough the first time, he hadn't been looking at his odometer to track the distance but he didn't really trust taking his eyes off the road to do that.

Harry drove carefully back up the road, but the snow had begun falling harder and he was having a hard time seeing. Just as he was deciding to pull off to the side and wait until the snow let up, knowing he wouldn't be able to see the turn in these conditions, he felt the tires slip and being inexperienced driving in those conditions he over-corrected. The Jeep went off the road and into a ditch. When it stopped Harry hit his head and blacked out for just a second.

When he came back to full consciousness he looked around. Everything in the car seem to have survived so he opened the door slowly and began to step out just as slowly. He almost immediately knew it wouldn't be easy as the vehicle was at a wicked tilt and it was not a short drop to get his feet on the ground. He turned his body so that he was fully facing out the door and with his hands braced on the seat he slowly slid down pointing his toes to give him just a few more centimeters of length. His triceps were burning trying to hold him up, finally he just let himself drop and felt a pain in his right ankle as that foot hit first. He didn't quite buckle to the ground as he caught himself on the bottom ledge of the door frame but he did have to hold on tight to get his feet back under him.

Running a hand along the car Harry walked slowly around to the front as best he could, slipping and sliding up the other side of the ditch to check the damage on the passenger side. He couldn't tell for sure but there didn't seem to be a lot of damage it seemed that it could be fairly easily repaired. Unfortunately it would still have to be repaired. From what he could see the fender was dented pretty badly and there were scratches on the paint all along the front. He just hoped there wasn't worse damage underneath making the car undrivable. He was glad he had insisted on the additional insurance coverage on the rental contract, paying the difference himself.

He moved around back to the front and then on around to the driver side, carefully climbed out of the ditch, and onto the roadway. He stood just looking at the car wondering if there was anything he could do to get it back on the road. He reached for his wand and realized the one in his pocket was his secondary wand. His original, his favorite, must still be in the Jeep. He could use the second one to summon the original and the map so that he could try to figure out where he was. He did exactly that and stood with his feet getting colder and his upper body too. As he looked around he saw the fence that he had been looking for was just beyond the fender on the front of the Jeep. He should be able to walk to the cabin from here and maybe get help getting to get back on the road even if this wasn't actually Draco. He tucked his wand down in the special pocket in his jeans he'd had made for it after using it to summon his knapsack and to the close the door. He stuck his favorite wand in a hidden pocket in the knapsack where only he could find it. Then taking one last look at the map, he folded it, stuck it in the knapsack, and tossed the sack over his shoulder. He began to make his way slowly down the road.

As he walked he saw what had made him miss the entrance to the driveway he was looking for. The trees hung low over it, especially as the branches were weighted with snow. The space didn't seem very large. It might be easier to see in the spring or even the summer when you would notice the difference between the leaves and the space below. With the cloud cover hiding the sun and the snow falling marred his view.

He made the turn and began walking down the driveway discovering that the appearance of a tight space from the road was deceptive which made perfect sense, otherwise no one would be able to drive here. He continued walking for what seemed to be several minutes and felt as if he was getting nowhere but the snow here had piled up quite deep along the side of the road and he didn't feel comfortable walking in the middle you never knew when someone might turn, drive down, and not see him after all the locals were much more comfortable on these roads. So he stuck close to the edge slipping and sliding along.

A few minutes passed and the trees on either side of the road gave way to a fairly large clearing off to either side. The snow had temporarily eased off and it was clear enough that he could see a cabin in the distance, at least he thought it was a cabin off to the right. The road must curve so he decided rather than sticking to the road he would carefully make his way in a straight line across the ground. As he walked he become more and more tired; everything was cold and began to hurt. It dawned on him the he had not cast a warming charm on himself and that he had left the winter coat he purchased back in the Jeep. Fingers cold and stiff he fumbled with the wand pocket, unable to retrieve it he rubbed his hands together vigorously, or as vigorously as he could, trying to warm them then ran them over his arms. While the long-sleeve flannel shirt had begun to feel quite warm when he was sitting in the bar on Merl's Mount it wasn't nearly enough out here in the elements even with the shirt underneath also being long sleeved.

He shook his head at the thought of the nearly untouched thermos of hot, steaming coffee sitting in the passenger seat behind him, so far behind him now. He turned for a moment to look back thinking it might be worth retrieving the coffee and the coat but seeing how far he had come and knowing how difficult it would be to climb back up into the Jeep he turned again and began trudging to the cabin.

Suddenly the world in front of cabin was blurry. He wasn't sure what was causing it, if it was an injury or the fact that the snow was coming down much harder now and the wind had picked up and was blowing the snow around. He felt still more tired, stopped for a moment, pushed up the glasses off his nose and rubbed his eyes, blinking several times. Things seemed to be more clear so he began walking, nearly shuffling again. A few steps further his right foot, the one that he had hurt getting out of the Jeep, slipped into a hole and he pitched forward arms flailing wildly trying to catch himself. He managed not to hit his head again but now his left wrist sang in pain. He tried crawling as standing on his ankle hurt too much. He struggled with his left wrist and settled on crawling mostly on his stomach using his left elbow instead, intent on continuing to move as much as possible. He looked up and the cabin still seemed so far away so he resolved not to look up again for several minutes sure he would be nearly there, but when he looked again it appeared no larger and no closer. Finally he could move no more. He was simply too tired and in too much pain. He decided to rest for just a moment, closed his eyes, laid his head down on his uninjured right arm and...


	5. Draco

Draco was driving back from a supply run that had been desperately needed, as he had discovered this morning that not only had his cupboard been running low on food but his potion supplies were getting low as well. As he turned off on the road that led to his drive it seemed there were more tire tracks than usual for this time of year. He wondered if that town auror had been back again or had sent someone else. About thirty yards down the road the rear end of a jeep jutted up in the air, off the right side of the road, in the ditch. He paused for a moment arguing with himself about whether or not to stop. He knew that if he had been back home in England he never would have but he wasn't the same person here so he pulled over, put his truck in park, and got out carefully to investigate.

He climbed down into ditch and moved over to the vehicle, raising a hand and knocking on the door. There was no way of knowing for sure when this accident had occurred. The person might have gone for help or be stuck inside. They could be awake but cold and suffering from hypothermia or knocked unconscious. When no answer came he reached up and did his best to open the door, finally giving up and pulling his wand from his pocket to do it for him. He had driven this road himself hundreds of times now but had had no idea just how deep the ditches were until now, and was incredibly thankful that he had never slid off into one. Old Raleigh hadn't driven much in the years before Draco had moved in with him. He had just waited for things to be delivered by owl or human. That explained why he had never warned Draco other than to tell him to drive carefully. He had said more than once that the roads could be treacherous.

There was no one in the car that Draco could see, but there was a heavy winter coat shoved down in the seat as if taken off and pushed down behind the driver. Draco closed the Jeep door again, climbed back up to the road, and got back in his truck. He would just have to drive slowly and watch the road for any signs of the missing driver. Maybe he'd get lucky and that person was followed by someone else who was able to help them out and then took them along with him to seek medical help or assistance getting the vehicle out. As he turned onto his road though, his personal drive, he realized he would have no such luck as there were footsteps, tracks in the snow filling with show as he watched leading off to the side then continuing along the right.

He drove into the more open space, pulled to a stop, and looked around. There was something dark in the field between himself and the cabin and he could see tracks through the snow leading to that thing. Cursing he put the truck back in drive, and knowing its off road capabilities and its handling in the snow he turned and drove across the yard stopping just shy of the mound. Again he threw the car in park and and hopped out. He found exactly what he expected to, a person crumpled in the snow.

It was a man and he was slumped over with snow nearly covering his back and legs. Merlin's balls how long had he been here that he was covered up like that with snow? Draco didn't even think as he lifted the man into his arms and rested his cheek against the man's forehead to judge his body temperature. He was as cold as ice, no real surprise as he had been lying face down in the snow. Draco put the man into the front seat of the truck, and kept on driving until he was at the front steps of the cabin. He threw the truck into park, yanked out the keys, grabbed the man and hauled him inside. He knew it wasn't too late yet as the man wasn't stiff, wasn't frozen solid but he'd have to start getting him warmed up as quickly as was safely possible. When he got the man inside, he put him on the couch, then rushed to put logs on the fire and in the wood stove then stirred them both up with a poker and the bellows to get the fires going as strong as he could. He'd been out all day the cabin was pretty cold, not good conditions for someone suffering from hypothermia.

He hurried back to the man taking his pulse and vaguely registering the shaggy curly dark brown mop on the top of the man's head and indentation on the man's nose, there must be a pair of glasses out there in the snow he thought. The pulse was slow and weak but it was there. Draco knew what he had to do. He'd read a book last winter on how Muggles handled hypothermia just in case and now he was going to have to put some of it into practice. He had no way of knowing if this man was a Muggle or a wizard and as he was hyper aware of the possibility of being charged for doing magic in front of a non-magical person even if they were unconscious at the time he began to pull the man's shirts off of him. Getting him out of the cold, wet clothes. Fighting with the denim, trying to pull it off the man's legs he thought he heard a snap but didn't stop to investigate what that might have been when he finally got them off. He pulled off his own heavy sweater and the shirt underneath then tore off his pants. He grabbed a blanket then picked the man up and laid down with the man in front of the fireplace and covered them both with the blanket.

As he lay there next to the stranger he couldn't decide if it would be better if they lay back to front or front to front. He didn't want to be accused of assault but didn't see any better way to help the man return to normal temperature. After minutes passed, he could feel the chill leaving the stranger's body.

He lay next to the man for an hour, while the woodstove and the fireplace heated the cabin. Finally he pulled away, wrapped the heavy old quilt from the couch around the man and dressed again in new dry clothes. He put a kettle of water on top of the wood stove then gathered the strangers clothes and laid them over the back and seat of a chair and spread his own out over the edge of the sink knowing the heat from the wood stove would dry them all in time.

Inside his one-room house was a couch, a table and two chairs, an old clawfoot tub he had found at the dump after Raleigh had passed, tired of taking only sponge baths from the sink or using cleaning charms, the woodstove, and a thick, rolled pallet he slept on as well as stacks of dry wood next to both the fireplace and the woodstove. He had a few cupboards and a sink with a pump that pulled water from a spring. There were two large trunks where he kept most of his possessions. Along one wall about eight feet up was a small loft with a railing and a ladder that he had used as a bedroom until Raleigh had passed. It had allowed each of them a bit of privacy in this small place. Underneath the loft stood an upright piano another addition Draco had made, a way to while away the hours he wasn't working, eating, or sleeping.

Leaning in the corners were fishing gear and two rifles of the caliber to hunt game on the land, something he never would have thought he'd do but did now to avoid having to go into town for food. He knew hunting was often done in large groups as a social event by the Muggles both here and back home, he'd even seen pictures of aristocrats on a fox hunt but it wasn't something he remembered his father ever doing unless you counted he and his atrocious Death Eater friends hunting Muggles and Muggle borns and he hardly thought that was the same thing.

On a small end table near the couch sat a stack of books. One of the first things he had done when he discovered the existence of NoMaj libraries was to get a card. He made a trip the library every two weeks and was working his way through both the classics and some of the most popular current authors, with the occasional nonfiction book thrown in when he found one that sparked his interest.

While heating water to make tea and then searching the cabin to see if he could find two cans of the same soup he remembered that he had left his groceries and all of his other supplies in the truck. He quietly went out and retrieve them. Between collecting his things and putting them away he stopped every few minutes to check on the man laying by the fire.

He couldn't believe he was doing this. He had no idea who this person was but he couldn't leave him lying there to simply freeze and not just because it would be incredibly suspicious to the local authorities; he just couldn't watch another person die needlessly when he had the ability to do something about it. Still as soon as the guy recovered enough he would help him get his Jeep back on the road as long as it was running fine and send him on his way.

As the soup simmered in the pot he looked over again at the man and mumbled to himself, "I though his hair was darker and curly." He shook his head. He must not have seen him clearly in his rush to heat him up. Ot was also possible he was one of those people whose hair looked really different dry to wet. He turned back to stir the soup when he heard the man begin to move. Good, maybe he would recover enough to leave tonight.

The other man begin to mutter in his semi conscious state. Draco moved closer; maybe he could make out the reason the man was here or his name. Most of what the man was saying was unintelligible and what he could make out just seemed to be random words. He went back to the stove and poured himself a bowl of the soup. He was placing the soup bowl on the table when the man's mutterings became louder.

"Draco," he said.

Draco spun to look at the man sending drops of soup flying from the spoon in his hand but heard nothing else. He must be imagining things. Then came again his name from the stranger's lips. He moved closer to look at the man.

Was this someone sent to bring him back the Ministry? The man lying on the floor had rolled over away from the fire. His face was visible.

Draco reeled back in shock. Potter, bloody freaking Harry Potter was laying on his floor in front of his fireplace, in Northern California, in the United States, but in Merlin's name how? What was happening? He thought he was in a place where he could forget about everything that came before, the war, the trial, the house arrest when he started to realize that there was more to Potter than met the eye. Neither of them had ever said anything specific, had put on a name on it but they had formed at first an uneasy acquaintanceship and then become nearly friends. Not that they spoke much but as they spent time with his mother or over a chess board they were civil, held regular conversations or sat in companionable, comfortable silence. He knew Potter was just killing time, appeasing Narcissa with whom he had formed a bond but for him it was more. He looked forward to the man's visits, hearing his stories of auror training, or tales of his cousin, Potter's godson Teddy. When days went by with no word he noticed and cursed himself for it. Potter was with the Weasley girl and then he wasn't and Draco knew it was time to leave before he could say or do something he would regret. He had to leave before he was faced with the one rejection he didn't think he could ever get over. He still remembered the first time Harry had returned. He had thought the original visit was a one time event that the other man would never deign to continue to spend time with he and his mother but he had…

"Draco dear," came Narcissa's voice from the small family dining room, the only dining room they still used.

He sighed and put down the book he was reading knowing if he didn't come to her first call she would say something about it later. It wouldn't be obvious, oh no, his mother was nothing if not subtle, but she would slip in some comment later meant to make him see the error of his ways. If he had ever heard the term passive aggressive he would have used it to describe his mother.

He entered the room, carefully schooling his face to show no frustration and found her standing at the small china cabinet in the corner.

"Yes Mother?"

"We'll be having tea in the parlor this afternoon. Come and tell me which set you think we should use," she said lightly gesturing to the shelves. "Shall we use the Queensware or the Jasperware?"

He knew that this meant a great deal to her; it was the one way she could still show her breeding, her place in society.

"Mr. Potter will be here at two, a bit early for tea of course but he has to other obligations and that was the time he would be able to come by and spend an hour or two so we're accommodating him" she replied taking a cup from each collection out of the cabinet and turning them in her hands.

Draco bit back a sigh and fought not to roll his eyes because he knew his mother had eyes in the back of her head and would see it whether she was looking at him or not. Sometimes he thought she had seer abilities. "I don't know that it really matters Mother. It's not like he knows quality china."

"I really do wish you would be much more civil after all he has done for us," she didn't even spare him a glance as she scolded him lightly.

"You saved his life Mother that's why he's done what he did. That and the fact that he's the picture of a Gryffindor goodie-two-shoes."

She turned slowly and stared at him not saying a word. It only took a few seconds for him to drop his gaze to the floor feeling all of five years old again rather than 18, and mumble just loud enough to be heard, "Sorry Mother."

"As you should be," she said and returned her attention to the china cabinet. "I believe we'll use the Queensware and I expect you here in a good mood ready to actually communicate the way you were taught at two o'clock. Don't make me send Mr. Potter in to get you, it is incredibly poor manners."

"Of course mother," he said placating her then turned and went back to the small parlor while she went off to direct their lone house elf on what to make for each meal that day.

He sat at the window looking out occasionally picking up his book, attempting to read, then placing it back in his lap. He knew his mother was right Potter had done a great deal for them and not just because he owed his life to Narcissa. Over and over again the next few hours his mind drifted back to the Fiendfyre.

Draco remembered hearing Vincent call-out the spell and seeing the fire erupt from the end of the wand. He remembered screaming at Vince, asking him if he'd lost his mind. It was a spell he too knew but would never have dared try it. It just too easily went out of control as it did that day.

He also clearly recalled climbing piles of junk trying desperately to escape knowing this was how he was going to die not at the hand of Voldemort or his aunt Bellatrix but instead by the hand of a friend, thinking it was probably what he deserved for so readily going along with the Death Eaters, for not taking Dumbledore's offer of help when it was given, for simply being who he was and had been. The fiend fire would become friendly fire. He had seen Potter, Granger, and Weasley flying on brooms though he had no idea where they had gotten them. He held his hand up not really daring to hope that any of them would try and rescue him and yet they had. He and Greg were alive thanks to them and their Gryffindor bravery, bravery he probably would have called stupidity if not for the fact that he owed them his life because they had risked their own for an enemy, something he would never have done and had in fact been taught specifically not to do unless there was a way to benefit from it.

There was nothing he could do to repay that act and it irritated him, annoyed him, got under his skin. When he owed a debt he wanted to be able to pay it back that was why he was so aggravated at the thought of tea with Potter. That unpaid debt was the reason he was so short with the other man, well it was one reason he admitted to himself, banishing the mere thought from his mind, refusing to actually put words to the other reason.

At ten minutes to two Tinky popped into the room, "Master Draco sir, Mister Harry will be here very soon and Mistress Narcissa requests you come to the dining room now. She says if you do not come I am to bring you please don't make Tinky do it sir I do not wish to make either of you angry."

If the changes in him were not obvious before to himself if not anyone else, the fact that he merely smiled, nodded, and stood to leave the room made it doubly so. After all the torture and horror of the war he had witnessed and been a part of, he couldn't stand the thought of a little elf punishing herself for angering her Masters, it all seemed so ridiculous, not that he thought they should be freed like Granger did but he did think they should be treated better though he had no plans to ever tell anyone how he felt. He was hated enough as it was to add being a laughingstock to that just wasn't something he was willing to do besides who would listen to him anyway? The Malfoy name no longer held any influence. They were in fact nearly reviled by both sides of the war. Changing sides at the end had done nothing to endear them to the light side and when it had come out during the trials, it had angered Voldemort's remaining supporters, those caught and not. He knew house arrest was probably the safest option though it grated being confined here. Azkaban would have been worse as would being allowed to return freely to wizarding society.

The doorbell rang as he entered the dining room.

"Would you please let Mr. Potter in darling?" Narcissa asked as she straightened the table and called for Tinky to bring the tea, sandwiches, and biscuits.

Turning on his heel he rolled his eyes only to hear from behind him, "Manners."

"Yes Mother, I know to be polite to Potter."

"I meant manners as in don't roll your eyes at your mother. Remember to respect your elders dear," she said lightly, almost teasingly.

He peered back over his shoulder to find her smiling at him. Shaking his head he set off for the door quickly as it wasn't a short walk and his mother was always bothered when someone had the audacity to ring twice.

Opening the large heavy wooden door spelled to be much lighter than it actually was for members of the family he found Potter standing with his back to the door watching the peacocks parade through the garden.

Obviously he had heard the door open however as he said, "You'd think they were the owners of this estate from their behavior, the way they stride across the grass. I know not to get anywhere near them; it's been sent out around the auror office that anyone on duty here should give the peacocks a wide berth, it is suggested to get no closer than three meters, to avoid them if they begin to shake their tail feathers and if you don't back away then they begin to squawk at you and finally they charge. Are all peacocks like that or just the ones your family owns or is it just because they're albino peacocks and not the multi colored variety? Why am I even asking you that's really a dumb question, sorry no need to answer."

Draco's head spun at the rapid fire of Harry's response. His head spun more when the brunette turned and he realized that the man was not dressed in his auror robes nor anything so shabby as he might have worn in school but instead in a set of dress robes in a deep red that made his green eyes seem to shine brighter than ever. At the thought that he was noticing the other man's green eyes Draco closed his for a moment, gestured in to the house, and spoke, "I don't know about other peacocks so much but I wouldn't put it past Lucius to find the most arrogant birds around. I know he chose the white ones on purpose. They are supposed to be more rare than the colored ones and so therefore more expensive and a much bigger status symbol. He certainly didn't choose them because he has a love of animals. Is that why you didn't ring the bell a second time? You were distracted by the birds?"

Harry shook his head and slowed his gait just a touch so that he was walking side by side with Draco instead of in front of him, "No, I remembered how long this hallway was and knew that your Mother prefers nowadays to answer the door herself rather than to send Tinky. They just caught my attention while I waited. The dining room?"

"Yes, she had it almost completely set up when I checked in before coming to the door, well before she asked me to get the door."

"Before she asked in her 'this isn't really a question it's an order' voice right?" Harry surmised.

Draco was unable to hold back the laugh that came at that, "Heard that one at home a time or two yourself have you?"

"Not growing up," Harry said. "My aunt and uncle strictly gave orders but I've heard it from Molly when I go to the Burrow, and even more so from Hermione's mother. Hello Mrs. Malfoy," he called out as he walked into the dining room.

She stood and held out her hands, taking his in hers and accepting his kiss on her cheek, "Welcome Mr. Potter and I believe I've asked you before to call me Narcissa."

Harry gave a quick wink to Draco at hearing the tone he had just described directed at him, "Then you must call me Harry. I'd suggest Draco do the same but I have a feeling he might be physically incapable of using my first name. I think it might actually get caught in his throat and choke him, and we certainly wouldn't want that. I mean just imagine the headlines," he replied cheekily.

"Ah Harry dear you are a treat," Narcissa laughed, "Please sit down. Tinky has made us a variety of treats today and I believe she paired it with a lovely pot of Lady Grey. Draco will you pour please?'

"Certainly Mother," having proper tea time behavior drilled into his brain practically since birth he filled a cup and turned first to the other man speaking pointedly, "what would you like in your tea Harry?"

Harry grinned, unabashedly amused at the sound of his name coming from the blond and said, "Just a touch of milk please, and thank you Draco."

After serving the tea to all three and each helping themselves to the food Draco sat, ate, and drank only occasionally adding something to the conversation but now being sure to only call the other man by his last name which lead to his mother sliding him side eye every time.

After about forty five minutes Narcissa placed her cup gently on the table, picked up the cloth napkin from her lap and daintily wiped her mouth, then placed the napkin next to the saucer.

"I apologize, I hate to be rude but Auror Jamison needs to speak with me this afternoon, apparently they've found something in a small shed at the rear of the property they need identified before they attempt to do anything with it so I'll be taking my leave of you now. Feel free to take as long as you'd like to finish tea and then maybe you should go to the parlor and find something to do. I will return to see you before you go," she said to Harry as she walked to the door allowing him no time to protest.

"Well it appears we've been given our instructions," Draco said as Harry sat stunned.

The brunette sat another moment dumbfounded and then began to laugh, laughing even harder when he saw the astonished look on Draco's face. Finally catching his breath he apologized, "Sorry, I should have known. It really shouldn't have surprised me that your mother could be so smooth, but it did. She was clearly a Slytherin for more reasons than family tradition."

"I think it's what made her and my father work so well together as a couple though I don't know that that's what either set of my grandparents intended when they arranged the marriage."

"Their marriage was arranged," Harry asked. "I would never have known if you hadn't said."

"Yes," Draco said simply, "it's a fairly common practice even today in 'society' families. I understand it's even fairly common in Muggle high society families. It's done to keep the bloodline pure and keep the money where it belongs for lack of a better way of putting it. I'm just glad my mother doesn't seem to feel it necessary for me because I know that Lucius would do it if he had any choice in the matter and I shudder to think who he would match me with."

Harry set his cup, saucer, and napkin on the table then sat back in his chair crossing both his legs and his arms, "Your parents seem to care for each other a great deal. Is that common in an arranged marriage?"

"I don't know that it's what usually happens," Draco replied setting his cup down as well, "but it's also not unusual. Most families do try to match their children with someone they think would be compatible with due to interests. They don't simply pick someone because it's the right family to be tied to, and I think Father did have some choice in the matter. It is quite possible that Grandfather Malfoy gave him the choice of which woman he might want to be married to and father chose mother. I believe she intrigued him, in part because she is a strong woman. She would never simply let him roll over her. She would be a strong partner in life would make it easier for him to achieve everything he wanted to."

Harry nodded, "She's certainly not a pushover. I can't see her ever letting anyone force her to do something she didn't want which makes me wonder what would have happened if she hadn't wanted to marry your father."

"I don't know that she would have been given a choice," Draco said honestly, "Grandfather Black could be quite forceful and strict however she seemed to be equally intrigued by Father so I suppose it was never an issue. Then again supposedly Aunt Bellatrix chose her own husband and he just happened to be from the right family so they arranged it for her."

"How is it you can talk about her so easily?"

"I don't know that this single mention of her marriage really counts as talking about her," Draco protested, "but it's not as if I can pretend she never existed, Yes I prefer not to talk about her or that husband of hers and usually I wouldn't, and at this point I'm going to stop if that's alright with you."

"Certainly not a problem with me," Harry replied. "It's not like I would ever talk about her if I were weren't forced to. So, what exactly do you think your mother expects us to do until she's done and is able to come back to bid me farewell as she feels she must."

Draco shrugged, "I have no idea, but I suppose that we could go back to the parlor where you found me last time."

"And do what?" Harry asked, "Bird watch? Sit and stare at each other? Sit and stare away from each other?"

"I'm sure something will come to us when we get there, even if we're not doing something together we will be spending time in the same room which is what Mother wants after all."

"I'm not sure that would be meeting the spirit of what she asked and what she wants. I get the feeling she'd like for us to be friends," Harry commented.

Draco raised a single eyebrow, "And how exactly do you feel about that? Don't you have enough friends?"

"Is there such a thing as having too many friends? Is that a Slytherin concept, that you can have too many friends?" Harry asked. "I think there's always room for one more. It's not as if I have the same interests as every single one of my friends. We all have different things in common; we all talk about and discuss different things and do different things when we spend time together. I don't see why I couldn't add one more now if it's you that doesn't want more friends that's different. How about you lead the way to the parlor," he suggested as he stood.

"Fine," Draco said as he stood and began walking out the door and down the hallway. Harry trailed along after him.

When they entered the small parlor, Draco made a beeline for his favorite chair by the window picking up the book that he had left behind and beginning to read once more.

Harry stood a few steps inside the room and looked around, "I didn't really look at this room when I came to get you last time it almost seems more library then parlor though I'm sure there's some formal explanation for the name. Other than at Hermione's I don't know that I've ever seen a room so full of books," he said pointing to the built-in shelving lining three of the walls, filled with books.

Draco sighed quietly, closed the book, and placed it in his lap, "There is a reason this is called the parlor. Don't ask me what it is I'm sure I was told at some point but it hardly seemed important to me so I don't remember. It may simply be that the main library is much larger and is on the second floor. It's one of the rooms we no longer go into. It was mostly Father's place, serving as his office. Feel free to look at any of the books I think all of them in here have been cleared by the aurors. None of them are dark magic oriented. Now if you don't mind I'm going to read myself."

Harry spent several moments walking along the shelves reading titles, taking books down, flipping through the pages, and putting them back. Finally he stopped at a chess board picking up the pieces to look at them and then placing them gently back on the board. He tilted his head to one side and asked picking up a white knight and examining it closely, "I don't mean to interrupt but you have a Muggle chess set? I can't believe there's a Muggle something, a Muggle anything in this house."

Again Draco sighed, this time not so quietly, rolled his eyes, and placed the book on the small side table next to his chair. He rose and walked to the chessboard, picking up the black queen and rolling in his hand, "Yes it is a Muggle chess set. It is also one of the oldest family heirlooms in the house. It predates the Statute of Secrecy and was given to the Malfoy family by the Royal family. Specifically it was awarded to my so many times great grandfather I can't even remember how many but his name was Armand after the first Malfoy known to live in England. It was given by Queen Mary the first, also known as Bloody Mary, for assistance in locating and executing those who opposed her, so naturally it has a place of honor even though it is Muggle made. Unlike other sets it's not made from wood but rather from marble in various shades."

"That explains why each piece is so heavy," Harry commented holding the white knight in the palm of his hand. "Do you play?"

Draco gaped, "You are not seriously asking me that are you?"

"Yeah that really was a dumb question. Your family owns this chess set. It seems highly unlikely that you wouldn't know how to play, however I do recall there being a chess set in the house I grew up in and nobody there knew how to play. It was merely decoration, which I never understood."

"Lucius felt that learning how to play chess was imperative in my learning how to strategize. I could barely see over the table when he first began to teach me. I had to sit on books on the chair and he was merciless. In time I learned to enjoy the game and not just play it to win but it wasn't until I refused to play with him anymore."

"Ah then you probably don't want to play me, guess I'll find something else to do," he said putting the knight back in it's rightful place on the board.

"Why wouldn't I want to play you?" Draco asked, "that might be the best way to fill the time and meet even the spirit of what my Mother wanted. I'm not sure why you want to make her happy but I know life is simpler for me when she is so I'm willing."

Harry shook his head, "I'm nowhere near you level if you've been playing so long. I didn't really learn until our first year at Hogwarts and I've not improved much. Ron isn't the best teacher; he's too intent on winning himself, and Hermione went straight for the books which isn't the way I learn best. I learn best by doing, by experiencing."

"Which is why you did so well leading your little secret group fifth year and did so well on the practical Defense O.W.L. I imagine you play much as you do everything else by merely reacting and on impulse," Draco replaced the queen on the board and drew a chair up to one side of the board. He sat down and gestured for Harry to do the same on the other side.

Harry nodded as he sat, "I think that's what makes Ron so crazy. I move too fast he says, but that doesn't make any sense when he moves as quickly as I do. I also tend to end up with my pieces rebelling which never helps."

Draco laughed, "Well that won't be an issue here. If Weasley has been playing even near as long as I have he's learned to read the board, see most if not all of the possible moves for that round and several ahead dependent on what move he finally makes very quickly. Even being able to see all that I tend to take more time. Go ahead, make your first move."

The first game ended in what seemed to be only moments but was closer to ten minutes with Draco winning handily. The second game began and each time it was Harry's turn Draco directed him to look at all possible moves, then asked the man to identify how he himself my react on his next turn. It only took five rounds and Harry began to quietly mutter to himself and wave his finger in the air over the board as he tracked moves.

As Draco waited for Harry to make a move he stood and wandered the room winding up at the grand piano in the corner, trailing his fingers over the keys he thought of his mother sitting next to him on the bench teaching him how to play. It was one of his favorite times in this room. While he might enjoy chess now he did not enjoy learning to play. Learning to play piano however was a different matter. Narcissa was a kind teacher, often turning it into a game, he learned to read music through silly words and sayings that she taught him as she showed him the keys that matched each note on the clefs. It was a show of good breeding to be able to play a classical instrument but he always had the feeling she taught him to play as much for the time they spent together as for show. It was only when his father was in the room listening to him play that he became anxious and it was no longer something he enjoyed.

He began to play while standing then settled on to the bench, missing a note he cringed but when no scolding followed he continued, closing his eyes and playing through to the end of the song.

Harry looked up from the chessboard when the music began forgetting about making a move in the game and simply sat listening, watching Draco.

When the song is over he said, "That was wonderful."

"It was nothing," Draco ducked his head, cheeks flushing slightly at the praise.

"It was obviously something," Harry insisted, "it meant something to you. Do you have any idea that you look like a different person when you play? You relaxed, looked like someone very content and confident but not arrogant. What was that piece?"

"You know I honestly don't remember the name of the piece. It was written by Bach but it's one of his lesser known pieces. It was one of Mother's favorites which was why I learned to play it," he answered only the last question ignoring all the rest.

"What is your favorite piece? Something else classical?" Harry asked.

Draco leaned back a touch and looked off into the distance thinking, "I used to enjoy playing pieces by Chopin."

"Play one of those."

"I don't remember any of them," Draco said turning away from the piano.

"You remembered that last piece and how long has it been since you played it?"

"Probably four years or more. Did you ever make your move?" he asked impatiently.

Harry looked back to the board, "Not yet, but I will if you play another song."

"That is not how this works Potter. If you don't want to play anymore fine I'll go back to my book."

"Think how happy it would make Narcissa if she heard you playing," Harry said innocently, "you did say she taught you how to play. I'm sure she would be thrilled to find out you still can."

Draco shook his head with a slight smile, "Again with the nearly Slytherin tactic, it's almost enough to make me play."

"Tell you what, I'll share a little story with you and then you play," Harry smirked.

"That will depend on the quality of your story," Draco replied, "but go ahead."

Harry proceeded to tell the blond about his time with the Sorting Hat. He gave as many details as he could, making sure to explain his choice of Gryffindor as a result of the things he'd been told by Hagrid and Ron rather than on his interactions with Draco himself at the robe shop or on the train. He hoped to avoid making the other man upset in any way.

Draco stuck his tongue in his cheek and scowled, "I'm sure I made that decision easier. Whatever, it's not like it matters now and honestly considering the way things turned out it was probably for the best."

"Does that mean you're not going to play for me?" Harry asked.

"I suppose that story is worth a short piece," he replied and turned back to the piano placing his fingers on the keys.

Harry sat back and closed his eyes just listening as Draco played.

Narcissa came to the door and smiled at the sight of the two men enjoying time together just as she had hoped they might.

"Ah Nocturne in B Flat minor," she said as Draco finished playing, "It's wonderful to hear you play again darling. Harry dear I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long."

He stood and crossed to her, "No, not at all though I should be going now. I'll see you again next week at a better time for tea."

"Of course, you are always welcome," she said kissing his cheek.

"And we can play more chess," he said to Draco, "I could use a few more lessons."

Looking to his mother first Draco shook his head, "I think you need more than a few lessons Potter. I'm not sure even I have enough time to help you."

Harry laughed and left the room with Narcissa clucking behind him at her son.

Coming out of the his memory he stood frozen for several moments then peered in the small mirror on the wall breathing a sigh of relief knowing Harry would not recognize him. His hair was still the much darker shade of blonde that he regularly dyed it using NoMaj hair color, dishwater blonde he had heard it called. It didn't really matter to him, all that mattered was that it was nondescript and much less noticeable than that Malfoy white blond. It was also longer than he had ever worn it though not as long as his father's and he simply refused to ever tie it back with anything fancy a simple hair band would do when absolutely necessary. The same color was used on his beard and mustache though he kept the beard no longer than an inch. His hazel contacts were in though he wasn't sure how much longer he could leave them in, if Potter stayed for any amount of time he might have to excuse himself for a while just to take them out and give his eyes a break. The plain glass of the horn rimmed glasses he wore was clean as were his dark green plaid flannel shirt and denims. No he was safe, there was no way he would be recognized and when he was forced to speak those lessons with the voice coach would help, there remained not a trace of a British accent in his voice.

He turned and sent a blanket flying to cover the piano before he sat back down at the table and slowly ate his soup watching Potter toss and turn on the floor, throwing off the covers, and continuing to mutter as he came back to full consciousness.

 **A/N thank you too everyone following. it's so exciting to get those notifications and see people enjoying my writing. I hope you continue to enjoy this story. reviews are always welcomed and appreciated.**


	6. Fevered Dreams

Harry was aware of being warm, but that was all he knew. He was no longer surrounded in cold. There were sounds around him but all he heard were flames and the crackling of burning wood. He was no longer just warm, he was feeling hotter by the second. He moved and the sounds of the fire just became louder.

"Draco," he yelled. He knew the man was here somewhere. He didn't know why he was back in the fiendfyre filled Room of Requirement when he was supposed to be finding the blond for his mother. Harry was alone, no Ron or Hermione in sight. Why would there be? They were back home safe and sound in London.

Harry grabbed a broom and began to fly, again calling out, "Draco!" The man had to be here somewhere, but where? He lapped the room several times flying high to avoid flames that seemed to not be actually consuming anything, avoiding stacks of furniture or other things, and then flying low whenever he could, still no sign of the man. The room was fading so he flew faster, he had to find Draco, had to talk to him, had to…

Draco was sitting at a table in the small parlor facing the back garden of the Manor.

"Your mother was wondering if you would join us for tea?" Harry asked from the doorway. "I think she'd like to spend some time with you."

Draco shook his head but didn't respond.

"Draco she needs to see you. You need to see her."

Again the blond shook his head as he continued staring out the window.

Harry's voice became more strident, "You have to talk to her. She's not…."

Harry was talking to an empty room, the blond had disappeared.

He blinked and suddenly he was sitting next to a bed looking out the window away from the witch lying there. He could feel her hand in his though; it was cold and limp. He found himself rubbing the hand to warm it up wishing there was something else he could do. After only a minute or so he felt the hand squeeze his.

"Harry dear," Narcissa said weakly, "why are you here? Shouldn't you be at work?"

He turned to look at her. She was paler than usual. He would never have thought that there was a shade of skin paler than Narcissa or Draco's and strangely enough Lucius's but he could see that he was wrong. Somehow what little color there should have been in her face had drained away, it left him more worried than he had been when Poppy told him about Narcissa's condition, more worried than he had been when Andromeda had tried to warn him what he would find in this room when she had greeted him at the door just a few minutes ago. Not only was she pale, she seemed thinner than ever, frail. He would never before have called Narcissa Black Malfoy frail or fragile. He'd always thought she was made of steel but seeing her now in the bed nearly swallowed by pillows and covers, her hair spread out around her not neatly coiffed as he had come to expect, today, today he would call her frail though he would not say that directly to her; he had better manners than that.

He forced a smile to his face and a spoke warmly, "I came by to see you. It's been too long since we've had tea."

"Oh Harry dear," she laughed lightly, "you lie so poorly, you really shouldn't even try."

"I came to tell you I'll be leaving in a few days and I don't know how long I'll be gone," he said.

She considered for a moment, "You're going to find Draco." It was a statement not a question.

"Yes," he replied, "it's time for him to tell us what's going on. He can't just disappear like this. It's not right. There are people who care for him that he's completely ignoring here. Taking off like he did was understandable when he was in contact but no letters, no Floo calls, nothing that really tells us anything. It's inconsiderate and he should know better. He has to know that you would worry about him and someone needs to tell him that."

Again she laughed lightly, "I'm thinking you're wanting to see him and yell at him as much for yourself as for me."

He blushed and fought not to stammer, "I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm worried about you as he should be."

"Are you positive dear? You two did seem to become much more friendly in that year when you kept us company so often, making the house arrest so much easier to bear.

Wait...this wasn't how that visit had gone. What was happening? Narcissa had thanked him for going to find Draco but there was no other conversation. Andromeda had shown him each thing that had come in the last few packages from Draco as he was looking for clues but that was it. Why was he thinking? He really hadn't spent that much time talking to Draco during that house arrest had he?

Draco was sitting at a table in the small parlor facing the back garden of the Manor.

"Your mother was wondering if you would join us for tea?" Harry asked from the doorway. "I think she'd like to spend some time with you."

The blond turned and looked at him for a moment before answering, "Mother wants me to come to tea but how do you feel about it Potter? I know she sent you. I also know how hard it can be to say no to her. She starts talking in the way of hers and before you know it you're agreeing with whatever she says."

"What does it matter what I want?" Harry replied, "We're in your mother's house, and she would like you to come tea, and I think you should."

"Yes we're in my mother's house, and yes she wants me to come to tea but I'm not worried about what she wants. It may not matter to her what you want, but I'm making it about what you want. Do you want me to come to tea? Do you really want to spend time with me?"

Harry took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and shook his head, "I don't understand why you're making this so difficult."

"Because you never wanted to spend time with me before. Why would you want to now?" Draco said petulantly.

"Oh I don't know," Harry said, "I spent plenty of time in school following you and trying to find you."

Draco rolled his eyes and shook his head slightly somehow making the move disdainful, "Yes, because that's the same thing. From the time you rejected my hand shake and my offer of friendship, you hated me."

"And you didn't hate me?" Harry asked, lips pursed.

"Hate would imply that I actually cared. You annoyed me certainly, but hate, you weren't worth that amount of energy," Draco kept his voice as flat as possible to try and portray indifference.

Harry shook his head again, "Well then come with me to tea so I can see if I can continue to annoy you, or am I annoying you just being here in your home?"

"I noticed you didn't deny that you hated me," Draco drawled.

"Why bother? You wouldn't listen if I said it. It's nearly impossible to prove a negative anyway, " Harry insisted crossing his arms.

"Said what?" Draco prompted, the dare clear in his voice.

"I never hated you. I loathed you from time to time and before you say it those are two different emotions; don't ask me to explain how but they are. You annoyed me; there were times you absolutely irritated me to distraction but I think there's only one person in the world I can say that I truly hate and it's not you, never has been."

Draco raised one eyebrow and leaned back in his chair, waiting for the brunette to continue.

"It's not who you think it is."

Draco leaned back in his chair, tilted his head to the ceiling, purse his lips, and appeared to be chewing on his tongue. His eyes dropped back to Harry, "Well if it's not the obvious then who and why not the obvious?"

"Come have tea with your mother and me and afterwards I'll tell you."

Draco gave a half laugh as he smirked appreciatively, "Now that's a very Slytherin answer."

"Come to tea the next time I'm here and maybe there's something else I'll tell you. If you've got the bollocks to spend time with me twice," Harry snarked then turned and walked out of the room.

He felt something warm again not quite hot but definitely warm, very close to him, almost as if he was wrapped in something but his invisibility cloak was buried in the knapsack. He was sure of it. He had debated with himself over even bringing it along, but had decided in the end that it was better to have it and not need it than to find himself in a situation wishing he had it and knowing it was sitting at home. He rolled, and flailed, and writhed until he felt looser and cooler.

"I don't understand why you keep going over there mate. There are aurors assigned to be there so what's the point in you being there when you're not even assigned there?" Ron asked.

Harry blinked and found himself sitting with Ron and Hermione in the kitchen at Grimmauld Place.

"Seriously Harry, how can you spend any time in that place, with those people?" Ron asked.

"There is no one else to spend time with them Ron. They're alone there just the two of them. The aurors assigned to be there check in as required but they won't even accept tea from Narcissa when she offers it, no matter how cold or tired or hungry they might be."

"They deserve to be alone," Ron huffed and frowned.

"And you're welcome to your own opinion on that Ron but I don't happen to agree," Harry answered.

"How can you spend time there though?" Hermione asked in a near whisper, "where all those horrible things happened? How can you stand to be there and not have your skin crawl? How can you stay more than a minute in that place filled with Dark magic and memories of Voldemort and his followers and all the things they did there?"

Harry slid off his chair, crouched down in front of Hermione, put his hand on hers, and held it loosely. His voice when he spoke was much more gentle than it had been when he had answered Ron. He knew she couldn't help but think of the pain and torture she herself had endured in that place at Bellatrix's hand. He sometimes wondered if she would have had better closure if she rather than Molly had been the one to eliminate the black haired obsessive witch.

"It was uncomfortable the first few times but there are very few rooms left open at the Manor. As she's been ordered not to touch anything until the year is up Narcissa has asked any room where Voldemort spent time in to be sealed off and only accessed by the Ministry workers going over it with a fine tooth comb. Those few rooms he never set foot in, that's where we spend our time. It's really not nearly as bad as you think it would be. Actually with just those few rooms open they have only just about as much space as you two do here in London in your flat. Well maybe a bit more, but not much," he said counting the rooms in his head.

She smiled weakly at him

"Oh what a shame," Ron rolled barked out and rolled his eyes, "poor little rich people stuck living in just a few well furnished rooms. They should be in a cell or at least some worn out little shack somewhere."

Harry shook his head, turned to glare at his friend, and gritted his teeth, "So they should just have their home taken away from them."

"After everything they did?" Ron snarled. "Yes!"

"You know as well as I do that they didn't have any real choice in what was happening." Harry stood and stalked towards the stove refusing to look at the ginger any longer.

"Sure they did," Ron said voice full of scorn.

"I'm not sure it counts as a choice when one of the two options is death or the death of a loved one." He tossed back over his shoulder.

Ron rolled his eyes,"Yeah like doing what Voldemort wanted or dying we're the only two choices they had."

"You know what, from the outside looking in at that situation we might see other choices. We might see the possibility to escape and hide," Harry answered. "I don't know that when you're in a situation like that you're thinking quite so clearly."

"Fight or flight," Hermione said, "black and white, things like that your brain goes into survival mode. You do what you have to do to survive. There have been studies done on it, at least in the Muggle world there have been."

"Bollocks!" Ron shouted, "You can't tell me they only did those things out of survival. They believed in the man when he came back, both of them."

"And no one's allowed to ever change their mind about anything?" Harry asked as he spun to look at Ron his voice rising as he spoke, "funny you left and came back while we were searching for horcruxes. You pouted and accused me of lying when my my name was pulled from the Goblet sure I'd found a way to cheat the system and hadn't told you and then realized I didn't. I didn't realize that you and you alone are allowed to make mistakes and then change your mind."

"This is even close to the same thing," Ron protested weakly.

"No, you're right. It's much more serious," Harry growled.

"Harry's right," Hermione said simply sitting up straighter in her chair, squaring her shoulders, "This is a much more serious thing for someone to change their mind about and much more important. This made a difference in the war. If Narcissa had not resisted the way she had, if Draco hadn't chosen not to fight when he could have, if had not chosen not to identify Harry there at the Manor it would have been over. Voldemort would have won. This is so much more important and you need to get over it. The war is over and done. The trials are over and done. Most people are moving on and I know," she paused, then gestured to Harry as she continued in a much softer voice, "we know, that you lost more than some so it hits you harder."

"But it has hit other people even harder than that. Andromeda lost her husband, her daughter, and her son-in-law and now as a grandparent who should be able to enjoy spoiling her grandchild she is instead having to act as his mother, and yet even she is making her peace with what happened and beginning to communicate with her sister. They haven't spoken in person or even by the Floo but they have exchanged several letters. If she can find her way to moving on you should be able to as well," Harry said also speaking much more quietly but voice still filled with conviction.

Ron rolled his eyes but didn't bother argue back he knew he wouldn't win. It was a waste of time and he knew they were pretty much right. He still never liked Malfoy and didn't think he ever would. He had always been a spoiled jerk.

"I just don't understand why you spend so much time there. Do you have to go every week?" he asked. "Don't you have better things to do with your time."

"The first time I went," Harry replied sitting back down in his chair and leaning forward, legs spread, elbow on knees, and hands clasped with fingers interlaced between. "I just wanted to see how they were doing. It was my testimony that led to them being just on house arrest and not in Azkaban after all. I knew no one else would be able to visit. None of their friends can and other than Andromeda there's no family and while she is Narcissa are talking I don't know that she'll visit or it may take a while yet before she does. Narcissa is a very interesting woman she lived in that house for how long with a Death Eater, with more than one Death Eater, with Voldemort himself in her house and she never took the mark. She was raised to think the purebloods were better she admits to that. She also readily admits that she raised Draco that way and wishes that she had been at least a bit more tolerant. She never thought that we should eliminate all Muggles or that all Muggleborns should be eliminated from Wizarding Society. She does see a hierarchy. She says even still it's a battle she fights with herself daily. She says has to remember that a muggle-born and the child of a muggle-born were a large part of what saved all of us, saved her and her son. She's also talked about Bellatrix, what it was like living with someone with such incredible devotion to the cause, so far beyond devotion to the point where she said it scared even her. She knew that the chances were incredibly high that her sister would end up dead and there was nothing she could do about it. She says she even began to wonder after a while if that wouldn't be the best end. She knew if Voldemort was defeated Bellatrix would have to die because there was no way she would go back to Azkaban and be a prisoner once more, no way she would let herself be taken back. Any love she had for her sister died when her sister insisted Draco should be honored for being selected for what any sane person realized was a suicide mission. The absolute joy Bellatrix took in killing, even worse the exhilaration she showed when torturing others terrified and horrified Narcissa."

"Is that all you talk about?" Hermione asked concerned. "The war? I don't think that's healthy."

"No," he shook his head and closed his eyes for a moment, smiling he leaned back in his chair crossing his arms in front of him loosely. "She's spoken a lot of the good times when she was a child mostly with Andromeda as even then it seems Bellatrix was a bit off, but also with Sirius and Regulus before they were all at Hogwarts. There are a few funny stories about time spent at Grimmauld Place. We occasionally talk about her plans for the Manor, all the redecorating and remodeling she wants to do. She can't do much but plan right now as she can't hire anyone yet with their accounts essentially frozen, every single purchase has to be approved by both the auror department and the goblins themselves. Needless to say, that's led to some times where they are down to almost no food because the goblins are just as vindictive if not more so than humans. She's also taught me quite a bit about how wizarding culture has changed through the years and expressed concerns that some of the traditions seem to be disappearing. Her biggest concern about half bloods and Muggleborns is that they aren't learning the old ways. Some of those things I think are fine fading into obscurity but some I can see how it would be important for them to continue and no I'm not going to go into detail right now but I have asked her to consider writing about the various ceremonies and holidays and other things, maybe we can turn it into a book, a sort of reference book for all wizard kind but especially for Muggle borns."

Again Ron rolled his eyes though this time it was in part because he was glad many of those old rituals were not longer in practice. He'd heard plenty of stories about them from his grandparents and even more from his Aunt Muriel.Absolutely not wanting to hear anymore and knowing that while Harry had said he wouldn't give details that he would if given the chance Ron changed the subject, "Okay so that's what you talk to Narcissa about but really you spend time with Malfoy while you're there too. What in Merlin's name could you possibly talk to him about?"

"We don't talk a lot. Narcissa does most of the talking when we sit and have tea. Draco and I will occasionally talk about what's in the Daily Prophet usually sticking to the Quidditch scores. We do play chess and unlike you he doesn't want to play just to win. He's trying to teach me to play better so that I will be a better opponent. Actually he's a pretty good instructor at that."

Harry looked over and saw Hermione watching him with a strange look on her face. He opened his mouth to ask her something, to ask her what was she thinking but she shook her head and nodded at Ron. Whatever it was could wait until he wasn't with them.

"I just don't understand," Ron whined.

"You don't have to understand Ron. "You just have to accept that I know what I'm doing and move on," Harry said tiredly.

"Ronald," Hermione said, "aren't you getting hungry? It seems to be about supper time."

"It is isn't it." Ron said casting a quick Tempus. "How did I not notice?"

Hermione was kind enough not to say that it was because he was so busy griping and complaining about Harry visiting the Malfoys and instead simply suggested he go pick up some takeaway for the three of them.

Harry looked at Hermione after Ron had gone up the stairs and he heard the front door close said "I'd thank you for that but I have a feeling you didn't send him out just to get him to stop asking me questions and complaining."

"You never have been as dumb as you sometimes act," she said and smiled.

"Okay. What is it? What do you want to know?" He said trying not to sigh and failing.

"Draco," she started, "I understand Narcissa, and to some extent I understand Draco, but I wonder."

"Wonder what?" he asked suddenly feeling nervous but unsure why.

She leaned forward, leaned towards him and asked in a near hushed voice, "Is there something more to it? Something more to your time with him than you're letting on?"

He sat back in his chair and chewed on his bottom lip for a moment before he finally said, "Ginny told you."

She shook her head, "No, not Ginny."

His eyes went wide then narrowed as he leaned forward himself, "Then how?"

"Because I've known you for 9 years now. I've watched you watching others. Ginny may have caught your attention for a while but it's always been males that your attention to has been drawn to other than her. I'm not sure if you're bisexual with a preference for men over women or if you're gay and she was an exception and it really doesn't matter."

"Does anyone else know?" he asked worriedly.

"Not that I'm aware of," she said, "it's not like it's something we talked about but I have to say I'm a little hurt that you told Ginny and not us. We are your best friends."

Harry shrugged then shook his head, dropped his chin to his chest, and whispered, "I'm sorry. I owed her, or at least I felt like I owed her an explanation. If I was going to break up with her, and I was I had to tell her why. There's really no good reason why I didn't tell you except if I told you I'd have to tell Ron, and I don't know how well that's going to go over."

"You don't have to keep things from me. I know that most couples share everything but I don't think everything really always means absolutely everything you've ever heard or seen. I know there are things he can't tell me because of your jobs and you have to keep some things confidential and if I have a friend who asks me to keep something secret I can do that. Besides since I know I can help you figure out how to tell Ron and maybe gauge his reaction before you do but I don't think you really have to worry about it. He's your best mate. It's not going to change how he feels about you."

"Thanks Mione. I appreciate it. I don't know though, I don't know when I'll be ready to tell him or any of the rest of the Weasleys but I'll let you know and Ginny too. I'll probably need the moral support."

"So you never answered my question," she said. "Is there something more to your relationship with Draco than just playing chess, talking about Quidditch, and having tea with his mother?"

"Me and Draco," Harry laughed. "No, he's just... well please don't take offense but spending time with him it's almost like when I'm with you and Ron or the Weasleys. You all see me for who I am and not just as Harry Potter the boy who lived, the boy who defeated Voldemort, the boy who saved the Wizarding World," he said with a sigh. "You know how tired I get of being those things, how much I prefer to just be me. With you all I can just be myself. It's the same with him. I'm just Harry or rather I'm just Potter, the bane of his school existence and he's Draco the bane of mine."

"Draco though," she said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes," he said, "sometimes... sometimes he's still just maddening Malfoy and sometimes he's even taken to calling me Harry though not around his mother, there I continue to be Potter. I think just to try to get her goat."

They both laughed.

Everything seemed to go dark for a moment Harry tried to cast Lumos but he couldn't find his wand. It was as if it worked anyway. The room around him was lit again.

He was back in the parlor overlooking the garden at the Manor sitting across the chess board from Draco.

"So," Harry said casually while contemplating his next move pinching his chin in his right hand, "your house arrest is over next week."

"Way to state the obvious Potter," Draco snarke. "Are you going to move or not?"

"What are you going to do?" Harry asked before moving his bishop.

Draco shrugged considering the chessboard in front of him.

"Come on," Harry prodded, "you must have some idea of what you want to do. You'll be able to leave the house. You'll be able to study. You'll be able to do an apprenticeship if you'd like. So what are you going to do?"

"Apprenticeship?" Draco laughed ruefully still not looking up from the board. "Are you serious? As if anyone here would take me on as an apprentice."

"Well you could go to France," Harry suggested. "You do speak the language after all and I don't think you'd get the same reactions from people there that you will here. That's even close enough you can still live here at the Manor or there's probably some place in France your family owns right? You can live there and still be close enough to see your mother regularly."

"There is a Black family chateau there, and it does have some good memories but, and I love my mother but spending a year together with almost no one else to see ever besides your ugly mug," Draco smirked, "it's too much and I'm not sure France is far enough away."

Harry tilted his head to the right and chewed his tongue as he looked at Draco, something in his voice, something in his response had tripped something in Harry's brain, and he just had to think for a moment. Then it came to him.

"You already know where you're going," Harry said.

Draco looked up from the chess board without sitting up, peering through his hair, "Oh I do do I?"

"Out with it Malfoy. Where are you going and what are you going to do?"

He looked back down at the board and said dryly, "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about Potter."

Harry shook his head and rolled his eyes, "Sometimes you really are just maddening Malfoy." Then he ground his teeth as Draco took out his queen with a knight.

They sat in silence for several more minutes, finishing one game and beginning another before Harry's eyes shot wide and his jaw dropped. He gaped at Draco for a moment before speaking.

"You are not," he said.

"Not what?" Draco asked the picture of innocence and uninterest.

"You are not!" Harry nearly shouted.

"And again I ask not what?" Draco said this time glancing Harry's direction for a few seconds before looking back at the board.

"You're not, you're not, you're not!" Harry insisted.

"Not what?" Draco sat up straight instead of leaning over the chessboard, crossed his arms, tilted his head to the side, and asked, "are you stuck on a loop Potter? Is this the result of some sort of strange charm or spell being cast on you?"

"The States," Harry said. "You're going to the States."

"Am I now?" Draco said as he leaned back over the board.

"You didn't deny it."

"And again with the obvious," Draco said sitting up once again. "I am going to the States. I have to get away from here. I've already contacted MACUSA and gotten permission to come and apprentice to be a potions master. The Minister was kind enough to vouch for me as was McGonagall surprisingly."

"When do you leave?" Harry asked.

"The Monday after house arrest is over. I would leave sooner, but I have to wait for the bank to clear our accounts so I can pay for the travel."

"And your mother knows?" Harry stood and walked to the window.

Draco's eyes followed the other man, "She does," he said simply.

"I take that to mean she's not happy with your decision," Harry commented staring off into the distance at the hedge that surrounded the property.

"No, not particularly, but she also understands that I am an adult and have to do what I have to do to be happy or even just to be content and I don't think I can do that here right now. I would think you of all people with your issues walking down the street without being bothered by everyone even after all this time would understand."

"I do," Harry assured him, "I really do. I know how bad things would be for you. I'm just surprised I guess, but you if have everything planned then there's nothing to say but be safe."

"Poor little Potter going to be worried about me," Draco rolled his eyes, "I'll be fine. I do manage to get through the days even when you are not here you know."

"I know. I just... I don't know... you hadn't mentioned it before but I guess you've been working on it for a while huh?"

"For several weeks, yes."

Harry turned and looked at Draco, "And you didn't think to mention it?"

"You really are going to miss me aren't you?" Draco wondered aloud.

"I'll miss the chess games. I don't dare play with Ron. He's still too competitive. I can beat him occasionally now, and he can't handle that."

"I didn't think I took it very well when I lost, but if Weasley's worse than me then I guess I'm not so bad," the blonde said beginning to put the pieces back in their proper places on the board. "You'll find someone else to play chess, or you could find something else to do with your free time. Maybe you could try going on a date. I'm sure there are tons of witches out there who would fall at your feet in a heartbeat."

"Yes because that's exactly what I want," Harry said avoiding answering that he'd rather have a wizard than a witch, "I suppose we can play chess by post. I know there are Muggles that do that."

"You're not serious are you?" Draco asked.

"Why not?"

"For starters I'm not planning on taking a chess set and secondly I have a feeling I will be quite busy with my apprenticeship."

"You could always buy a cheap Muggle chess set, or I could send you one."

"Potter, sometimes you are truly pathetic," Draco said then smirked.

Harry blinked and suddenly he was again sitting next to a bed looking out the window away from the witch lying there. He could once again feel her hand in his though; it was still cold and limp. He found himself rubbing the hand to warm it up just like he had before wishing there was something else he could do. After only a minute or so he felt the hand squeeze his as he had known it would.

"Harry dear," Narcissa said weakly, "why are you here? Shouldn't you be at work?"

He turned to look at her hoping she would look better than he remembered but no she was still quite pale and her hair was still spread around her looking strangely unkempt, she still looked like she could break at any second.

He forced a smile to his face and a spoke warmly, "I came by to see you. It's been too long since we've had tea."

"Oh Harry," she laughed lightly, "you lie so poorly, you really shouldn't even try."

"I came to tell you I'll be leaving in a few days and I don't know how long I'll be gone," he said.

She considered for a moment, "You're going to find Draco." It was a statement not a question.

"Yes," he replied, "it's time for him to tell us what's going on. He can't just disappear like this. It's not right. There are people who care for him that he's completely ignoring here. Taking off like he did was understandable when he was in contact but no letters, no Floo calls, nothing that really tells us anything. It's inconsiderate and he should know better. He has to know that you would worry about him and someone needs to tell him that."

She squeezed his hand again, "You'll find him. He always said it didn't matter where he went or where he hid you could find him."

"I was cheating then though," he said explaining the Marauder's Map to her.

She laughed weakly, "Siri always was a sly sneaky one, it really doesn't surprised me that he was part of creating that. Even with that advantage though you had to have had some idea of my son's habits, enough to know where to start looking on the map. You'll find him. I believe in you."

He squeezed her hand and prayed to whomever or whatever might be out there that she was right.

Narcissa faded from before him and he realized his eyes were closed and he was lying down. He moved a bit then opened his eyes and looking around he found what he thought was a man watching him at least it looked like the form of a man; it was hard to tell without his glasses.

"Hello," he croaked out then coughed and put his hand on his head grimacing.


	7. Initial interaction

Draco steeled himself before moving. Finally standing he filled a glass with water, opened a bottle and shook out a few pills, then crossed to the man on the floor. Crouching down next to him he passed over the pills and the cup then reached out and laid a tentative hand on Harry's forehead drawing it back after only a moment.

"Here," he said, speaking carefully, "some aspirin and water. It should help your head. You do have a headache right?"

Harry began to nod but stopped as the room swayed in front of him, "Thanks," he mumbled before swallowing the pills with the proffered water.

Taking back the cup, Draco stood and stepped back, "Maybe you should just lie back down for a while. If that was your Jeep in the ditch back there on the county road, you might have a concussion from the accident or possibly from your fall in the snow."

"A concussion?" Harry asked, it was a word that sounded familiar but he couldn't quite find the meaning right now, he screwed up his eyes and twisted his lips as he thought trying to locate the definition in his head, but he just couldn't think past the pain, the pounding in his skull.

"A head injury caused by a blow to the head, could have happened if you hit your head on the steering wheel or on the ground. Confusion and memory loss aren't uncommon signs. Of course," Draco said as he moved back to sit at the table, "they could also be signs of hypothermia but that should be passing now. Your body temperature was really low when I found you but you seem to be much better now, normal to almost too warm. I don't know if swinging to too hot is normal after experiencing hypothermia but it could be you are also ill. What were you doing lying in the snow in my yard anyway?"

"I..." Harry started then paused thinking again, then attempted to move himself into a sitting position, wincing when he tried to use his left hand for balance and quickly switching hands. Once he was sitting up, he used his right arm to wrap the quilt around his waist and the blanket he had thrown off to the right went around his shoulders. He held his left hand in his right and stared at it, it was swollen and an explosion of colors it shouldn't be. Like some abstract painting his wrist was now black, blue, purple, and red and something about the angle of it was off.

Draco cursed internally, he didn't want to give away that he was a wizard or that he knew who Harry was but he couldn't simply leave the man in pain. He supposed he could help the brunette bundle up and take him into one of the towns to be checked out by a NoMaj doctor but he knew he had Skele-gro and pain killing potions here he could use if that wrist was broken and not simply sprained. How could he bring that up though? Why oh why was Potter here in his cabin? He took several deep breaths to calm himself so he wouldn't give himself away. The answers would come, he'd just have to be patient.

"Take a minute and think before you answer," Draco said quietly, "it's not a rush. You're safe here, but if someone is expecting you somewhere it would be good to know so I can find a way to let them know where you are."

Harry chewed the inside of his bottom lip, "Where am I?" he asked finally. "Maybe that will help me remember why I'm here."

"You're in the woods in Northern California, though you are obviously not from around here with that accent, all the more reason I'm wondering why you were lying face down in the snow in my yard," Draco answered.

Harry nodded slowly and carefully just twice, "No, I'm from England. I'm here… looking for someone? I don't know for sure. The last thing I remember is the tires sliding, the car slipping on the road, and waking up in the ditch. I think I did hit my head," he said reaching up with his right hand and feeling for bumps but not finding any.

"I…" he continued, "I got out of the car and realized I couldn't get it out of the ditch so I started walking. I must have been looking for someplace to find help I guess. I had a map that showed the roads but that wouldn't have led me here so..."

"You came all the way here from London to look for someone?" Draco said incredulously, feeling his heart rate accelerate, fighting the urge to cower as he thought about the possibility of being taken back home, taken not home but back to England and being thrown in Azkaban. He purposely measured his breaths as he added, "who were you looking for and why here?"

The brunette furrowed his brow and then shivered, "Could I have my clothes please?"

Draco stood and went to the large blue trunk in the corner, "Your clothes are still wet. I have them hanging to dry but it may be a bit yet however you can borrow a shirt of mine until they are." He pulled out a thick red flannel thinking it would be the easiest for Harry to put on with his injured wrist and took it over to him.

Slowly and exceedingly carefully Harry pulled the shirt on his arms and did his best to button it up. Draco clenched his jaw so that he wouldn't wince along with the other man every time his wrist twinged. Guilt was building up, somehow soon he would have to say or do something to help; he just couldn't keep watching this.

"Thank you," Harry said.

"I have soup here, if you're hungry," Draco offered.

"That would be…" Harry's eyes went wide as a thought occurred to him, "wait, what time is it? How long have I been unconscious?" His eyes widened further when it sunk in that he really could not see well and it wasn't just the headache or the dimly lit cabin. He looked closely at his hand, his right hand and saw the still faint but readable 'I must not tell lies' on the back of it. Then tried to surreptitiously rub his head under the hair hanging over his forehead and found exactly what he expected.

"It's about five in the afternoon or evening if you prefer. I found you, I think it was about three but I didn't stop to check the time. Why, what time was the accident, or what time do you think it was?" he asked though he knew Potter was now calculating when he had last taken Polyjuice. The other man wasn't quite as subtle as he tried to be looking at and for his scars.

"I don't know for sure. I stopped for lunch and it was after one when I left there. I drove for over an hour at least, it had to have been longer but I don't remember looking at the clock," he sat looking at the quilt, picking at the small knots of yarn tied through it, running his hands over the strips of fabric that made up the squares, knowing that his clothes would be too long and too tight if he went to put them on again, but unsure of how to bring this up. He had no way of knowing if the potion had worn off before or after he had been found and had no idea how to bring it up. If he asked and the man noticed a change but said nothing he was a wizard but if he asked and the man hadn't and was a Muggle would he just sound confused, maybe that was the way to do it, play it off as part of the confusion from his head. Still though how to even ask, he tried the question out in his head several times and each time it just sounded strange or suspicious. It wasn't as simple as asking if he looked different now than when the man had found him. He couldn't even ask if the man had noticed anything in particular about him when he brought him inside. Surely he had either changed back before he was found or the man was a wizard, but how to find out. Maybe now wasn't the time; later, later he would ask the man if he would be willing to collect the knapsack from the jeep and he would find some way to trade out the clothes he had been wearing with ones that would fit him now.

Draco watched as Harry's face seemed to change every few seconds, emotions flying across, his eyes squinting then opening wide, his lips pursed then disappearing as he chewed them much as he often did when they played chess. The thought of playing chess had Draco's heart aching. He did miss that but he also knew it couldn't happen again. That relationship would never have gone anywhere, at least not where he wished it could. No one could have been more surprised that he was falling for the Golden Boy than he himself was. Blaise, Theo, and Pansy had often teased him in school that his obsession with Potter was looo-ooo-ve as they all three singsonged when no one else was around. He had naturally denied it. It was not love he felt for the other boy it was disgust and annoyance, but as they began to spend time together first with his mother and then alone he had started to feel differently. He was fascinated by the man Harry had become and that had had just as much with his decision to come to the States as knowing he would never be able to live the way he was used to or even the way he might want to in the UK.

Finally Draco decided to put Harry out of his misery, "Your hair isn't curly when it's wet is it?"

Harry was puzzled for only a second before replying hesitantly, "No."

Draco smiled, "I thought not. You seem to be squinting a lot, did you lose your glasses in the snow?"

"No," Harry said, "or at least the pair I most likely lost in the snow isn't the pair I need. Those would be back in the Jeep."

"Polyjuice huh? And you're looking for someone? What did they do?" Draco laughed but braced himself for the answer, braced himself for the possibility that he would need to pack up and disappear again. He couldn't do it. He had turned himself in once at the end of the war sure that it meant the Kiss or at least imprisonment in Azkaban. The testimony of the man in front of him played a major part in his ability to be where he was now and he didn't want to leave Harry in pain or run away but he would not go back there. It was too late. The Wizengamot had made their decision. They couldn't take it back now! It was too late! He would not go back!

"It's not like that," Harry protested, "I'm...it's...it's complicated. I'm not looking for someone because they're in trouble; they're not. I have a message for him that's all. I need to share something with him."

Draco raised an eyebrow, "And the Polyjuice then?" he asked voice filled with skepticism.

"That's the complicated part. Um this sounds incredibly strange at this point all things considered," Harry gestured to his state of partial dress, "but what is your name?"

"Austin," he replied, "Austin Turner, and you are? Your real name preferably, not the one you're telling people when the Polyjuice is in effect."

"Harry," Harry said and looked into the fire biting his lip waiting for the follow up question.

"Just Harry?" Draco prompted.

Harry looked down at the quilt again, took an obvious deep breath, and said, "Harry Potter." Then he waited, hoping against hope that somehow this man from rural California didn't know his name and realizing that was stupid as the man was a wizard and though the war hadn't actually spread here the news of it had but still maybe he'd get lucky.

"Harry Potter?" Draco as Austin said doing his best to sound disbelieving "Harry Potter? The Harry Potter is here in my cabin? In the woods? In the States?" With that he forced himself to laugh as if it was the funniest thing he had ever heard.

Harry scowled, this was not the reaction he had been expecting and he wasn't sure how to handle it but the longer the man laughed the more irritated he became. The only thing that kept him from clenching his jaw was the fact that it made his head hurt.

Finally, Draco stopped laughing, wiped his eyes, and said, "I'm really supposed to believe that? Nice try pal. What are you expecting some special treatment? Like the Ministry would let their hero out of their sight without a bodyguard or ten."

Harry didn't answer, just swept his hair up off his forehead with his good hand and closed his eyes.

Playing along Draco moved closer to look, "Well what do you know, it really is you," he said softly.

"Yes, it's me," Harry grunted.

"No offense pal," Draco held his hands up in front of him and shrugged, "it's pretty unbelievable that the Ministry would let their big hero leave the country without heavy guard. The idea of you traveling the world all alone is mind boggling at least from the news we get here."

Harry shook his head and rolled his eyes, "I don't want to know what the news is you get here. Chances are it comes from the Daily Prophet and that rag is wrong at least twice as often as they're right about anything and that's being generous. Their only goal is to sell papers."

"To be honest, most people here don't take what they read or hear seriously unless it comes from our own sources, and even we know the Daily Prophet is a joke," Draco said placatingly, "I was really just trying to get a rise out of you, guess I hit a sore spot sorry.

"So, um, Austin, I hate to ask but is there anything you can do about my wrist?" Harry asked gritting his teeth with the pain, "and I think I did something to my right ankle too."

"Yes, absolutely. Just a second, gotta find my wand." He went to his denims that hung over the sink and pulled the wand from the pocket along the thigh. Then he walked back and knelt in front of Harry waving his wand, silently thanking Merlin that he had bought a new wand when he had arrived in the States rather than using the one Harry had returned to him, and wordlessly casting a few diagnostic spells finally satisfied he stood back up.

"You do have a broken wrist and a sprained ankle. I'm going to go out back to my potions lab; I'll bring back a bottle of Skele-gro, a pain potion, and some dreamless sleep. I think you'll heal better and faster if you're sleeping. When I get back I'll help you move to the couch; you'll be more comfortable there."

Harry nodded, "Thank you."

Draco stepped out the back door onto the back porch and stood for a moment breathing in the cold air and attempting to bring his heart rate back to the range of normal. It had been pounding so hard, fast, and loud since Harry woke up he was shocked the other man hadn't heard it.

When Austin had left the room, had stepped out the back door, Harry looked around the cabin. Specifically he looked towards the couch wondering if he could find a way there by himself. He appreciated all the other man had done to care for him, but now that he was awake, now that he was conscious, he wasn't comfortable with the thought of the other man picking him up in his state of half dress and carrying him anywhere. He understood the man could probably lift him using a spell but having had to practice that on one another in auror training he knew that that sensation left him feeling quite anxious. There was something about floating through the air with no support you could feel that left at least him in a constant state of feeling like he was falling. Even when he was petrified he still felt as if he was falling.

Pulling his left arm tight against his chest he drew his left leg up and placed his right hand on the floor. Sliding carefully on his butt pushing with his foot and dragging himself with his arm, stopping every so often to make sure that the quilts and blankets were coming along with him, he managed to make it. His back was against the sofa and a large rectangular cushioned ottoman was about a half meter to his right. The amount of exertion just going that far surprised him. He was more out of breath but he would have expected so he stopped for a moment and rested.

Once his breathing had slowed he again brought his left foot up to his rear leaving his knee pointing up to the ceiling. He reached back with his right hand laying it flat, palm down on the couch cushion. In one big effort he pushed up with both his foot and his hand and sat carefully on the edge. He slid back a bit then lifted his right leg and laid it along the sofa. He then twisted his body and lifted his other leg to lay there as well. He leaned back against the arm of the couch and stay there waiting for Austin's return.

Draco in the meantime crossed the small backyard to what had been a storage shed for Raleigh that he had turned into a potions lab. The building from the outside looked to be in poor repair the wood was faded and old. He thought the appearance might keep anyone who somehow wandered onto the property from going inside. It looked as if nothing important or expensive could be inside, but as was often true appearances could be deceiving.

Stepping inside, the room looked much nicer than the cabin he had just come from. He hadn't bothered updating anything in the cabin other than adding the clawfoot tub, as all he did there was eat and sleep. This was where he would spend most of his day so he had done some work in here. First he replaced all of the rotting and weak boards then added a second layer of boards to the wall. Not wanting to paint in any particular color as the light in the room needed to show as clearly as possible to be able to check colors of the potions he brewed, he had chosen to simply stain the walls with a clear matte coat. He had also installed windows on either side of the door, they allowed natural light in which he found to be the best to work by when he had that opportunity. He also found it quite relaxing when he was working to lookout on his cabin and the trees that surrounded it. He'd come to love watching the trees bud in spring, birds fly by in the summer, leaves falling in autumn, the deer and squirrels almost anytime, but what he liked most of all was sitting and watching the snow fall in the winter especially the large fluffy flakes that always seemed to float more than fall.

In the center of the room stood a row of cauldrons made from a variety of metals. Some he had discovered were better for certain potions the other. This was discussed in his classes Hogwarts. It was pointed out that you could make almost any potion in your basic pewter or iron kettle but there were a few that were best brewed in gold or silver. The potions master he had trained with had taught him more about the theory and given him her list of best metals for each potion but he had continued to test the theory to see if it was anything he could improve upon. It worked and was helping him develop quite the reputation as a potions master. He had made sure to send his results back to the master; they were not in direct competition being on opposite sides of the country and even if they had been he felt it was only right to share considering all she had done for him.

He moved to the largest cabinet on the back wall. There were several, enough to cover the entire back wall, learning to build them had actually been part of his training, one he was most skeptical of but the pride he felt in placing things in something he had created made it worth the effort to learn to do it well. The cabinets to the left held ingredients, those to the right held any tools he might need as well as empty bottles and corks, the largest in the center held the completed potions. He picked up several bottles and returned to the cabin.

Stepping through the back door he stopped at the sight of Harry on the sofa. Shaking his head at the stubbornness of the other man he stifled a chuckle as he crossed to sit on the end of the ottoman closest to Harry.

"Take this first," Draco said passing Harry a potion bottle. "It should help more than the aspirin I gave you earlier."

After he swallowed the contents and handed the empty bottle back, Draco set it aside and cast a small localized petrification spell on the broken wrist to straighten and immobilize it. He then passed the Skele-gro, "this is for your wrist. While you drink that I'll work on your ankle." He slid to the other end of the ottoman and pulled the blanket gently from Harry's feet. Quietly, voice not much more than a mumble he waved his wand and cast a spell that reduced the swelling and the throbbing then a second to repair the damaged tendons and ligaments.

Returning to sit closer he passed yet one more bottle over, "This is a dreamless sleep," he said. "It should help you sleep still and calmly while Skele-gro works, by the time you wake up everything should be fine. You're lucky I didn't detect a concussion at all. The confusion you were having earlier must have been left over from the hypothermia."

Harry put the bottle to his lips to drink then pulled it away, "Thank you," he said. "I don't think I've said it of if I have not nearly enough. Thank you for everything. There was no reason you had to rescue me, but you did. It was an incredibly kind thing to do for a complete stranger."

Draco waved his hand as if it was nothing, "We take care of each other up here," he said. "It's as simple as that, besides what kind of person would I be to let someone freeze to death. I don't know anyone that heartless."

"I've known one or two," Harry replied.

"With the war I imagine you have," the blond said hoping he was not one of those in the other man's thoughts right then, but admitted to himself that it would be fair considering it's exactly who he was back at Hogwarts. He might have saved a fellow Slytherin or a Ravenclaw, but a Puff or Gryff, only if he'd thought he could get something out of it. Sometimes he wished he could go back and be then the person he was know, but he knew that wasn't possible so he let the thought go.

"Did I just get incredibly lucky collapsing in front of your place or does everyone up here always have these potions on hand?" Harry asked thinking of Mel's well-stocked cabinets back in Merl's Mount.

"Possibly a bit of both," Draco replied easily leaning forward elbows on his knees, hands clasped in front of him. "Pretty much everyone around here keeps basic potions on hand. Pain potions and dreamless sleep are not unusual. Skele-gro a bit more so, though living here in the woods you never know what could happen and it's always best to be prepared."

He rose and walked to the front window where he stood looking out thumbs in his front pockets, "However I do run a mail order potions business. I tell you this because it's possible when you wake up I may not be here or there might be an owl, sometimes more than one."

"Your lab," Harry said, "is out back?"

Draco's only response was to nod. The room was quiet for several moments. The blonds turned to find that Harry was still sitting with the potion in his hand.

"You should take that," he said, "or would you prefer to eat first? I do have soup like I said."

"Eating might be a good idea," Harry said a small grimace obvious on his face.

Draco went to the wood stove, dipped the ladle in and filled a bowl of soup. He placed it on a tray along with a glass of water and carried it over to set in front of Harry.

"You go ahead and eat," he said. "I already did, so don't wait on me. I'm going to check the clothes and see if they're drying."

Harry took several spoonfuls of the soup, commented it was really good and received a shrug in response.

"It's canned soup, not anything special."

Harry ate a few more spoonfuls, drank the potion and set the tray aside.

Draco who had been watching him from the corner of his eye brought over a pillow that he handed to Harry and then took the tray. He sat in a chair near the fireplace picking up a book and began to read. Harry carefully slid himself down the sofa until he was nearly flat, put the pillow behind his head, laid back, and gave in to sleep.

 **A/N trying desperately to say l stay ahead of this story and struggling but even if i don't post for a while i will finish this story. as always recorded are welcomed and greatly appreciated as they feed the muses.**


	8. More interaction

Harry woke to find the room silent and empty but very bright. He had slept for a long time obviously. He carefully moved his left hand, when he felt no pain he used both hands to push himself into a sitting position. Next he flexed his right foot and then pointed the toes again feeling no pain he turned, placed both feet on the floor and stood slowly. Looking around he found the clothes he had been wearing before folded on the table next to them sat his knapsack and over the back of the chair was his coat. Austin must have made a trip out to the Jeep to retrieve his things. He would have to find a way to pay the man back for everything he had done.

Finding no pain whatsoever when he walked, he strode to the table and pulled clothes and his glasses from the bag. He dressed quickly as the room had cooled. He thought to stir up the fire but bending and straightening to put on his pants had brought a new need to the forefront. There had to be a loo somewhere, but the cabin really was just one room. The only two doors led to the front and back porches.

Harry walked over to the back window and looked out seeing a very small building and one somewhere between the size of the smaller and the one he was in. He thought it was safe to assume the medium sized building was the potions lab and so then the building on the right was probably the loo. Deciding to forego his coat for the short trip he opened the door and trudged out back. The cold made the trip to the bathroom a quick one. There would be no taking his time. He finished, stepped back outside and gave only brief thought to going across to the potions lab before heading back to the cabin instead so as not to tread where he was not invited. The other man was kind enough to let him stay here and not turn him out immediately when he woke up. The first thing he did was stir up the fire in the fireplace and check the wood stove. He was feeling quite hungry again. A quick search of the cabinet nearest the woodstove revealed several cans and a single pot. A can opener was set inside the pot. Harry found two cans of stew, used the opener on both then dumped them in the pot, located a spoon and began to stir.

As he waited for the stew to cook he searched through his knapsack to make sure everything was there. Austin had tucked the map down into the bag, his journal was also there. The bubbling from the pan caught his attention. He moved the pot away from the main heat on the stove top, then filled the bowl he found nearby. It appeared to be the same bowl he had eaten out of the previous evening. He wasn't sure what time it was but he had noticed when he was out back that the sun was high in the sky, he must have slept straight through the night, the morning, and into the afternoon longer than he'd even thought when he first woke up. He took the bowl back over to the sofa and sat to eat hoping that when Austin returned he would be able to help get the Jeep out of the ditch, then Harry could go on this way.

Feeling really tired once more he set the bowl aside and laid back down on the couch soon falling asleep.

When next he woke Austin was sitting at the table in the kitchen area eating a bowl of the stew.

"Looks like you woke up at some point," Draco as Austin said between bites.

"Yeah," Harry replied as he sat up slowly and leaned against the arm of the couch, "long enough to heat that and run out to the loo."

"I forgot to tell you I have a chamber pot you could have used so you didn't need to go out in the snow. It's under the sink behind the curtain there. You must not be fully over your injuries since you went back to sleep," he commented.

Harry began to nod then stopped, shrugged, and said, "I don't know. I just felt tired, there isn't any more pain. I was able to stand and walk just fine and I got dressed using both hands with no issues. I'm just feeling drained, weak," suddenly he grabs the quilts on the couch and wraps it tightly around himself.

"Are you cold?"

"Yes," Harry said, "I don't know why. It's plenty warm in here but I feel chilled to the bone."

Draco closed eyes for a moment, there was no way he was getting Harry out of here any time soon. He opened them again and walked across the room put a hand to Harry's forehead, "You have a fever. That would explain the chills. Just a moment and I'll go get a potion."

"Wait," Harry put a hand up.

"Wait for what?" Draco asked

"I try not to use potions whenever possible," Harry replied tucking his hand back up under the quilt and pulling his legs up under it as well.

"Have you had problems with them before?" Draco asked, not remembering ever hearing of that issue, "or has someone in your family?"

"No," Harry shook his head, "but I am aware of potions addiction and so I kind of stick with muggle medicine if it's something fairly minor. It worked when I used it as a child. I wasn't sick often but when I was it worked. I'd say I was lucky that Aunt Petunia even gave me any medicine but Melin forbid I get her Dudley Diddums sick, or that I be too sick to do my chores." There was just a touch of hostility in his voice but he shook his head again as if shaking away the anger.

"Not that I don't take potions," he clarified. "I just want to try it try not to take them frequently. No reason to0 avoid any possible problems if I can, besides I don't even want to think about what the Prophet would print if the merest hint of a suggestion of… well you get the idea."

Draco chuckled, "Yes, I do. Alright then I'll get you a few aspirin."

As Draco rummaged in the cabinet for his small store of NoMaj medicine, kept for much the same reason. It was better not to run the risk as there had been for him times in the past when the happy haze of a potion called to him and that could lead to the end of his freedom. Harry moved from the couch and curled up in front of the fire as close as he could get to it without climbing in, with the quilt wrapped tight around him.

"Thank you," he said when Draco put the aspirin into his hand and then passed him a glass of water. "I'm probably being overly cautious but it really wouldn't go well in the papers or anywhere else if I somehow become addicted. I can see the headlines already. Oh, wait, I said that already didn't I? Sorry about that. I seem a bit foggy again. Anyway, there may be people who become addicted to non-magical painkillers but I haven't heard of it, at least not ones you can get without seeing a doctor first."

Draco nodded, "I imagine you think twice about everything you do now don't you?" he asked and wondered how hard it was for the man before him to actually think before acting, as e had always been too impulsive whereas Draco himself had nearly always thought through everything carefully before acting.

"Frequently," Harry said, "I certainly think before speaking or acting now more than I ever did when I was younger. It's probably a good thing for my career actually."

Draco summoned another blanket and wrapped it around the brunette then went back to his dinner. Harry sat and stared into the fire for quite a while until he began to feel warm again and then tiredness took him once more. He laid down on the floor right in front of the fireplace and fell back asleep.

Draco quietly walked over straightened out the blankets laid his hand on Harry's forehead again, feeling that it was much cooler he took a book, and climbed up into the loft for the night.

Harry woke up and found that some time in his sleep he had tossed the quilts and blankets to the side. His shirt was wet with sweat but he wasn't cold. Light was just beginning to come through the windows. He stood up silently and moved just as quietly to the sink to get water. As he looked out the back window he realized there was no need for him to stay so silent his host was in the backyard splitting wood with an axe. He hadn't spent much time with witches and wizards here in the States but for the most part they were very much like those back home doing everything with magic that they possibly could and very little otherwise. This man, Austin, seemed to use Muggle methods for things just as often as he did magic he wondered if the man himself was muggle-born, a thought that would have had his host laughing hysterically, and feeling thrilled as it meant his cover was better than he thought. Harry would never expect him to use Muggle methods.

Harry could tell it was cold out from the chill at the window, but Austin must have gotten hot as he had stripped off his flannel shirt and rolled up the sleeves of the long underwear shirt he wore beneath it. The brunette stood just watching for a moment. When he caught himself admiring the other man's bum in his well worn jeans he shook his head and turned away. He shuffled back to the couch and lay down, then stood up quickly. His head spinning he dropped back down to sit on the edge of the couch for a moment before rising more slowly. He collected the covers from the floor and brought them back with him, curled up in the corner of the couch, arranged the blankets over his lap and took stock of what he saw to test his mental faculties. There was no electricity in the cabin that he could see in any way but there was indoor plumbing at least for the sink. This far out in the woods it would not be connected to any sewer line or town water. Considering the loo was an outhouse the water must come from a spring. He had not seen the other man wash the dishes the night before but he had noticed a sponge and scrub brush in the sink. He could easily imagine the man using them to do dishes by hand rather than using a cleaning charm.There were very few dishes to do anyway, it wouldn't take more than a few minutes.

Draco returned to the cabin to find Harry sitting up on the couch staring into the fire.

"Feeling better?" he asked

"Hmm," Harry said.

"Feeling better?" Draco said again, a lot louder this time.

"A bit I guess."

"Think you could eat anything," Draco asked going to the cold box and pulling out a few eggs, "I can scramble these for you."

"You don't have to do that," Harry replied shaking his head then stopping and putting both hands up on his forehead.

"Dizzy?" Draco came over and sat down across from Harry. "Here take this it should help."

"Another potion?"

"Yes," he reached over and felt the other man's head, "and while you take that I'm going to get you some aspirin for that fever, then I'm going to make some eggs. You'll eat as much as you can and then sleep."

Harry looked at the bottle with a scowl but drank it anyway, "You really don't have to take care of me."

"What I should throw you back out into the snow? Unless you have somewhere to go it's best you stay here until you're feeling better."

"But why would you take care of a stranger?"

"You're not exactly a stranger now, you did introduce yourself," Draco joked, when Harry didn't laugh he passed him the aspirin and water then went to cook. After a few moments he spoke again, "When I first moved to this area I was stubborn, living in a tent just trying to find a place. The old man that lived here, Raleigh, found me camped on his land. He offered me a place to stay. I was dumb and froze for another three days before knocking on that door. He let me sleep here in the loft, fed me, let me use the shed out back to start my potions business. I owe it to him to pay it forward in some way. So you stay here until you're feeling well enough to drive, we'll get your car out of the ditch and you can go on your way and pay it forward to someone else."

Harry thought this all over and nodded gently, "I can do that."

The next few days passed in much the same way. Harry would sleep most of the day, taking potions or aspirin as needed, eating what he could and then going back to sleep. Draco would come and go, cooking, brewing his potions, and watching Harry sleep wondering just how long he would have to have the man here in his home. He did feel the need to pay forward what Raleigh had done for him and he did want to see Harry healthy but he had to get him out before he discovered who Austin really was.


	9. Discovery

Bored with the book that Austin had loaned him, Harry put it aside, making a mental note of the title as he thought Hermione might enjoy it. He looked around the room unsure of what to do with himself. His search journal was up to date and he was beginning to feel well enough to move around more, though admittedly not for long periods of time.

He stood and went to the window looking out, watching the birds for just few minutes before sighing quietly and turning back into the room. Draco/Austin looked up from the book he was reading. He had sat down at the other end of the sofa so that he could stretch out with the ottoman if he wanted when Harry had woken up. He watched the brunette wander to the fire and stand warming his hands then shook his head with a small smile and went back to reading.

Harry finally decided to go through his things, starting with his wand. He pulled the wand that he had been using from the pocket of the denims folded in the chair with the other clothes he had been wearing when he collapsed only to find that it was in two pieces. So he turned and grabbed his knapsack and pulled out his wand, the one he had gotten that very first time he had visited Diagon Alley, the one later broken during their escape from Nagini in Godric's Hollow and then repaired by the Elder Wand.

He used his wand to repair the second one, then placed the healed wand into the knapsack and into the pocket he had just pulled his own from. That little pocket was well padded and had a few extra charms and wards on it to protect the wand encased in it. He'd test it later to see if it worked, for now it didn't matter. He could always find a wandmaker here in the States and go in his Polyjuiced disguise to get a new one if needed.

Draco watched with interest, "You have two wands?" he asked playing his role as Austin. "Is that common in England, or the UK or Europe? It's quite odd here in the States. I've never met anyone who had a second wand, unless it was because they'd simply replaced an old one that was broken or no longer working, as well due to simple wear and tear. Though even that is unusual, and they were holding on to the old one for the memories."

"No it's not," Harry said, "but I... I mean... well it's complicated," he sighed.

Draco leaned back into the sofa, arms behind his head, crossed his legs in front of him on the ottoman and said, "I enjoy complicated stories."

Harry sighed again and sat on the arm of the sofa at the other end, "My wand," he said and held up his original wand, "well back home it's easily recognizable. Everyone seems to know what it looks like; there's been pictures and descriptions in nearly every paper and in every unauthorized biography out there. Parents can now buy their little witch or wizard a training wand that looks just like mine, only you know, child-sized. It's really ridiculous considering it's not even the one I used to defeat Voldemort but I guess that's not well known. I'm not sure if I was that specific in my reports to the new Ministry or in the trials when I testified. I had my own wand back and repaired by that point and no one asked which wand I used. It's probably better for the actual owner of that wand though so…"

Draco bit back a shudder at the thought of the entire wizarding world knowing Harry had used his wand to defeat the Dark Lord. He would never have been able to get it back. Somehow the Wizengamot would have found a way to take it and not let Harry return it to him if they thought it that powerful, never mind the fact that it was really the wizard who was powerful and his opponent who was overconfident. Harry had told him he had enough trouble convincing them to allow him to return the wand during the house arrest. He was incredibly grateful to have it back and treated it with reverence himself now.

"Anyway, I got a second one to use when I need to work undercover. The whole of Wizarding UK knows I'm an auror now so I need to hide anything identifying when appearing as someone else. Criminals can be incredibly dumb and they can also be incredibly wily and observant. So like I said, I got a second wand and even for that I had to contact a wand maker privately. It's not like I could be seen walking down Diagon Alley into Ollivanders or into any other wand shop in wizarding London. That would have led to yet more stupid stories in the paper and more people stalking me just to see what it looks like."

"So the one in your hand is your original, correct?" Draco asked doing his best to sound nonchalant.

"Yes," Harry replied.

"I wouldn't normally ask to see another wizard's wand since it's such a personal thing but may I? And feel free to say no." he asked quietly, but did not put his hand out at as so many others did when they begged to see Harry's wand, the one that had so stymied Voldemort through the years.

Harry hesitated only a moment, looking down at it before passing it over.

"The lore on your wand isn't quite as popular here," Draco said taking it in his hand, "What's it made from?"

"Holly and Phoenix feather," Harry said.

Draco held the wand up, inspecting it closely. He wondered if it would work for him the way his had worked for Harry. He didn't know if it was a matter of Harry's abilities, a compatibility in their magic, or simply because Harry had taken the wand from him by force and won it's allegiance.

Curious, he held it up and looked at Harry who nodded, "Lumos," he said. The tip shone brightly, just barely darker than his own but certainly functional; which didn't answer his question completely, but it did seem that at least their magic was compatible. Not that that changed his mind in any way about pursuing anything further with Harry. He was still determined to get the other man out of his home as soon as possible. It had hurt more than he expected to leave the man when he had come to the States. In those visits over the year of house arrest he had come to care for Harry more than he ever thought possible. He knew the man was no longer seeing the Weasley girl, wasn't seeing anyone when Draco had left, but by now he was surely in a relationship with someone one hundred times more appropriate for him than the former Death Eater would be. He was enjoying this time seeing the man again but the longer he stayed the harder it would be. He had to do something.

Draco stood suddenly and passed back the wand, before heading to the table and opening the book he had placed there earlier, "Thank you for letting me see that. I need to do some work."

Harry returned to his knapsack, taking out his search journal and reviewing all of the entries so far, and then sat staring off into space for a bit before turning to watch Austin.

"You've never once asked me why I'm here," Harry said after another moment, "or if you did it was when I was so sick I don't remember."

"It's not really any of my business is it?" Draco replied not looking up from his ledger and not wanting to have this conversation.

This was it, Harry thought. Time to test Michaela's theory that Austin either was actually Draco or knew something about him.

"I was passed out in the snow in your front yard, in the woods thousands and thousands of miles from where anyone would reasonably expect to see me. You took care of me when you didn't have to, if nothing else does, that makes it your business. Or are you not at all curious?" It was almost a dare which was precisely his goal.

Draco could hear the challenge and wanted to ignore it as he normally would, dismissing it without even bothering to acknowledge it. ut he was not himself to Harry, he was Austin. And Austin would probably be more like most other people, more like the people he had met here in this area, curious about outsiders. Putting down his quill and closing his ledger, he leaned back on his chair crossing his arms, "Fine. What are you doing here, thousands of miles from where anyone would reasonably expect to find you?"

"You ask, but it sounds like you have a theory," Harry replied.

"Oh, I don't know," Draco said slowly, "maybe you just couldn't take the adulation and hero worship anymore and decided to escape. Or maybe you lost it and did something horrible and ran away. Maybe you're desperately in love with someone and following them into the wilderness. Maybe you've agreed to marry some witch, sight unseen, and you've come here to do so. It could be you've decided to see the world, but the big tourist destinations were too crowded, too expensive, or too filled with admirers. Perhaps you've decided to try out living in a new country and still wanted to go somewhere where they speak English, even though it can be a very different English. Could be that someone broke your heart and you're on a trip to get over it. Or I suppose," he said standing and moving to fill his coffee cup, "it could be some totally mundane auror thing, that is your career right?"

"Very interesting list of possibilities," Harry remarked. "Yes, I am an auror, though that's not why I'm here; I mean it plays a role, but I'm here for a more personal reason than that. I'm looking for someone."

"Then I suppose we'd better get you healthy so you can get back out on the road and get on your search."

"Aren't you the least bit curious who I'm looking for?" Harry asked. "Maybe if you saw the picture you'd recognize him, though no one else I've shown it to has."

Draco breathed an internal sigh of relief, "Then I doubt I would either. But as you're not quite in condition to travel yet I think it can wait. What can't wait, however, is a run for supplies. I'm getting low on some of my potions ingredients that I can't forage in the woods and we're getting low on food."

Harry ducked his head, "Sorry about that."

Draco held up a hand, "No need to apologize, it's not like you're eating much; besides, since I need to get those ingredients I'd be shopping for food anyway. I always do both when I go into town to make fewer trips overall, so it's really not a big deal."

"Where do you usually go for supplies?"

"It takes a while, but I run down to Eureka. I hate to do it today as I have a few potions brewing, but they should be ok for the time I'm gone. I usually plan better, but I've had a rush of unexpected orders, guess you're not the only one sick around here," he said looking at Harry. "Relax, read a book. If you think you can make it to the outhouse you can, but if you're not up to it there's a pot in the corner under the sink you can use and then just vanish it. When the snow gets too deep I've been known to do that myself, it's not worth the cold to even apparate out there. I might see if I can find a healer to consult with as well. My fireplace isn't a floo so I can't call you that way but I think I know enough about your symptoms to share."

Harry shifted in his spot on the sofa thinking for a moment before speaking, "There's a little town called Merl's Mount, if you take the right road coming from Eureka. It's a wizarding town. I've stopped there twice in my search, so they don't know me as Harry but rather as James, and they have a healer, you could talk to her and get a hot meal while you're there, something not canned. They have a really nice pub with a great chef."

Draco was suddenly suspicious about just how Harry had found him, though he kept it to himself, "Do they also have a local auror as it were? A woman?"

"Yes," Harry replied, "she volunteered to help me in my search. Have you met her?"

"She came by over a week ago," he said, "showed me the picture." And I nearly panicked and packed up everything and moved he thought, "that white haired man, sorry didn't recognize him."

Harry sighed, "I'm not really surprised. Are you in contact with any other potions masters around?"

"Not really. Now I need to get going if I'm going to be back by dark. Relax, take the potions as you need them," he said pointing to the table with several bottles sitting in the middle. "Heat up a can of soup or something else if you're hungry. You should only be stuck here a few more days. I'll work tomorrow on getting your Jeep out of the ditch. Right now it's so covered in snow it looks like some strange boulder so no worries about it being stolen, not that that's a real concern around here."

Harry nodded but didn't say anything else, just sat back and watched Austin leave. He picked up his knapsack and pulled out his journal, reading through everything that had happened so far and adding notes to it, but something was niggling the back of his mind the whole time. Finally he packed away his journal again and rose to walk around the room slowly.

There were no signs of anything personal here, no pictures of anyone that might be important to the man who lived here; no books of his own (only library books); no knick knacks or other collectibles, no souvenirs of any variety. The mantel held only candles and a kerosene lantern at either end.

Moving to the space under the loft he looked at the two trunks and argued with himself about opening them. It was a betrayal of trust, but there was still something there in the back of his mind, that instinct or gut feeling he had been taught to listen to during auror training, though he still never trusted his own instincts as much as he had ever trusted Hermione's. He backed away from the trunks, sitting in a dining chair and looked at them, working through things in his mind.

No personal items anywhere they could be seen. They might be back in the potions lab but that seemed unlikely as it was the workspace and not the living space. Austin had not looked him in the eye when he said he hadn't recognized the man in the picture. He'd changed the subject when Harry first brought up the fact that he was searching for someone, rather quickly too, he hadn't even faked interest as many people would to be polite. The most interaction he'd had with the man had been when they discussed his wand earlier. Michaela had sent him this way purposely because she suspected this man, at least he was pretty sure it was this man, knew something about Draco, or was Draco himself. Austin was a potions master as he knew Draco as well. It was all adding up but it was all circumstantial. Nothing was real proof ,just suspicion. And even the suspicions had holes. Austin showed no recognition of Harry, and Draco could be circumspect and keep things hidden, but there was no reaction to him being here, none that Harry had noticed. Of course, he had been unconscious when the Polyjuice had worn off, so he could have missed any reaction if there had been one. He was beginning to think in circles and was wearing himself out. He walked to the back window and looked out, watching the birds at the feeder before turning back to look into the room.

The trunks were the key, or so he thought. Still, they weren't the only things in that space. What was that under the old quilt? Some piece of furniture?

He decided that uncovering whatever it was would be less invasive than opening the trunks, and he could always claim he had brushed against it accidentally and knocked the cover off. He strode across the room and stood looking at the strange shape before finally lifting the corner of the old quilt.

His jaw dropped when he found an upright piano and bench underneath. There was no music on the stand but the piano held no dust. It was kept immaculately clean. He sat down and lifted the lid, plinking out a few notes; he couldn't be sure but it sounded as if it was in tune. This, this meant something to the man that much was obvious but was it just coincidence? There were millions of people in the world and many both magical and Muggle were piano players or lovers of music.

He stood back up and moved to cover the piano again before looking closer at the bench. It was the kind that opened. His hand reached out to lift the seat but he hesitated. What would he find there but music? Would that be any kind of clue? Even if he found sheet music for Chopin or Bach that wouldn't necessarily mean anything, they were both very popular composers, besides what was the likelihood that he had actually ended up in the home of the man he was looking for, even with the suspicions of Michaela.

Finally he gave into his curiosity. There were several pieces of music in the bench and they did include pieces by Chopin and Bach but there was also Mozart, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, and Ravel. Under all the music however was a small pile of parchment tied together with a piece of twine. It took only a look at the top page for Harry to know Austin was Draco, there it was, his name written in Narcissa's loopy handwriting, a letter sent to her son nearly two years ago.

What was he going to do with this information? He couldn't let on that he knew, that was the best way to get Draco to simply toss him out and then disappear again. He had to find out why the man had stopped answering letters, why he had essentially dropped off the face of the earth, going so far as to assume a new identity. He was bewildered that the other man hadn't already done whatever he could to get rid of him. As soon as he was conscious the first day Draco could have driven him to the nearest town but he had let him stay, he had taken care of him, helped him heal. Was it possible that Draco had thought it would be too suspicious to just send him packing immediately? Was he hoping for news of his mother? But he had changed the subject when Harry said he was looking for someone; was he afraid that he would force him to return to the UK?

Harry put everything back in the piano bench the way he had found it, then covered the whole thing with the quilt again, and returned to the couch to sit and think. For the next several hours he ate lunch, went out to the outhouse, wandered the room, stood staring at the quilt covered piano, and wrote in his journal trying to formulate a plan. He knew he didn't have much longer before he was well enough to move on, how could he get Draco to talk or at least to listen? All he really had to do was get the man to listen to why he was looking for him. If he could get him to listen, to hear what was going on with Narcissa even if the man wouldn't admit who he was, and he probably wouldn't, he would contact home. Harry was sure of it. Draco loved his mother too much, but even loving her as he did he hadn't written to her in well over a year so… it was all too much.

Eventually tired out, he laid down on the couch and took a nap.

Harry heard the truck pull back up in front of the cabin, followed by another vehicle. Two doors opened and closed as he moved to sit up. Making himself comfortable in the corner of the sofa, he straightened out his shirt as the front door opened and Draco walked in carrying a box followed by Mel. He watched the other man now looking for signs that he might have missed before, there was something about the way he walked, the way he carried himself that was familiar to Harry but he wasn't sure if that was the Draco he knew peaking through or just because he had watched 'Austin' walk around the cabin so much for the past few days.

"Here he is," the blond said, "this is Harry, Harry this is Mel. She's a healer from a small town not far from here, Merl's Mount."

Draco kept walking to the back of the cabin, stopping only momentarily to put the box on the table, "I'll just be out back working, or at least bringing in all my supplies. I'll go around so I don't bother and leave you two to talk. When you're done, if you're hungry this has food from the bar," he said gesturing to the box, "Paige insisted when she heard I was caring for someone that was ill."

Harry looked at Mel wondering what to say or if he should say anything at all. She moved into the room and sat down on the ottoman across from him.

"So should I call you Harry or James?" she asked with a slight smile, after the back door closed and they were alone in the cabin.

"You knew?" he breathed in shock.

"We're not so provincial that we don't get world news here you know," she replied laughing.

"Yes, but…" he trailed off trying to think of what he might have said that tipped them off, then it hit him like a bolt of lightning, "Hermione and Ron, I'm so dumb," he said shaking his head and turning red.

She laughed, "Not everyone would have picked up on it but since Michaela was an auror during that time she was on high alert in case any of Voldemort's followers came here and tried anything. So she followed the news at the end of the war pretty closely. You may have been the main story but your friends were all in several of them as well: Ron, Hermione, Neville…"

"Ginny, Luna, Dean…" his eyes went wide, "then you all know who Draco is? And you were okay with helping me find him."

"Don't panic," she put a hand on his shoulder to calm him. "Yes we know, but we also know he was released from house arrest having served it without incident, and that he was acquitted of most all of the charges, as he was underage and clearly under duress. Your testimony did a lot for him as well. Now Mikey will kill me if I don't ask. Is this your man? Is this Austin actually Draco?"

Harry nodded, "I just found out while he was on his supply run."

"Oh she might never let us live this down," Mel sighed and laughed, "I'm not sure any of us really believed she was right and it was him she'd found. Since we hadn't heard back from you we hoped you had found him, but as it's been so long we didn't think it was Austin."

"It is him, though he hasn't admitted to it and let's not go into how I know," Harry grimaced and looked over his shoulder towards the door.

She laughed again, "Mikey did a bit of looking into his mail order potions business here and there have been no complaints. As a matter of fact, he's gaining quite the reputation as a reliable and excellent brewer. After checking with her contacts at MACUSA and finding out he'd trained as a potions master here she was even more convinced it was the same guy. We knew before sending you here that he wasn't causing any issues in the area. We'll pass the information on that you found him so your Minister knows and can tell his mother. Any idea when you'll be heading home though?"

"I suppose that rests quite a bit on what you tell me about how much longer you think it will be until I recover."

She shifted into professional mode, "You seem to be doing well. Your breathing is normal. You're not coughing. You have no fever. How do you feel right now?"

"Tired more than anything. I can't seem to stay awake for more than a few hours at a stretch."

"And you're eating?"

"Yes, we have canned soups and stews, nutritious if not always tasty but it's no worse than some of the scraps I was left to eat as a kid," he shrugged, "I'm not eating as much as I normally would but I'm able to eat a bit more each day."

"You've been sick for about a week Austin said," she said with a wink, "All the symptoms he listed match the flu so I'd say another week to fully feel yourself again, but watch him and make sure he doesn't catch what you have. If he does come and get me."

"I will. Thank you Mel."

"No problem Harry," she said as Draco came back in the room.

"Well it looks like your patient is on his way to recovery. I'd say just a few more days, maybe a week, and he'll be healthy enough to travel. You've done a good job taking care of him," she said to the blond.

He just nodded his head in response.

"Harry mentioned you're a potions master," she said in an effort to draw the other man out some.

"Yes," he replied.

"What would I need to do to order potions from you?" she asked. "I can make the simple ones myself, the ones most used in healing but there are more complicated potions I need that I just don't have the time to brew. I've been getting them from Eureka in a shop but I know they don't brew all of their own. Do you supply any them or other shops?"

He nodded, "Just a few months ago I signed a contract to supply that store and one in Fortuna. It seems both had masters ready to retire and hadn't found anyone new to come in."

She stood, "Not that I mind paying them but it seems like it would be more efficient and better for you if I ordered directly from you."

"You can do that," he said, "Just send me an owl with the list you need, keep in mind though how long it takes to brew as I don't keep everything in stock. Make sure you let me know what you need before you run out."

"I can do that. I better get going back to town if I want to make it before dark," she said while moving to the door. "If you need anything you can owl me at the clinic or the bar."

"Oh!" Harry said suddenly, "Could you do me a favor?"

Mel turned to him, "Probably," she said with a smile and a wink.

He shook his head nearly impercptibly, "If I give you a phone number, could you call my friends and let them know I'm ok? You can tell them I took ill but that I'm on the mend. If Hermione doesn't hear from me soon she's going to be trying to come find me, and that's about the last thing she should be doing in her condition. I don't think the airlines would even let her fly she's that far along but I wouldn't put it past her to find some other means of getting here."

Draco's eyes widened and he quickly turned to taking the food out of the box so his expression wouldn't be seen. So Granger and Weasley were having a baby, really no surprise but the ache in his chest was. The urge to experience being in love and starting a family with someone made his throat tighten just a bit, though it would be more difficult for him and his chosen partner to start a family than the other two members of the Golden Trio. Swallowing hard to clear his throat he merely waved over his shoulder as Mel left, promising she would make the call for Harry and send him an owl to let him know what they said.

"Dinner is here, I need to get out and finish putting away my supplies and get a few potions started so I'm going to take mine with me," he said with the smallest glance over his shoulder at Harry, "Don't wait for me, eat and rest."

Harry watched the blond leave the cabin and walked quickly to watch the other man cross the backyard and step into his lab through the window. Shaking his head and sighing he sat down to eat dinner and plan just what to do.


	10. Memories

As each day passed Harry felt a bit better. The two men settled into a routine with Draco rising, making breakfast, checking his potions lab and then cutting wood for the day's fires, stacking it on the back porch where Harry could easily reach it as well as on the front porch of the lab. Then he would disappear into his lab for the rest of the day. Harry would eat his breakfast when he woke, usually at the sound of the back door closing, then washed the dishes in the small sink, fighting the urge to watch the other man cut the wood through the window and losing every time. Harry would spend the majority of the day alone in the cabin reading, writing in his journal, or staring out the window. He would have lunch alone, then prepare dinner. Draco would return for dinner and then settle in with a book. Harry could occasionally get him talking about one of the books in the stack or what potions he had worked on that day, but any time the discussion turned close to being personal in any way Draco would stand and announce he was tired, then climb up into the loft for the night.

Harry napped one afternoon out of sheer boredom. When he awoke he saw his jeep pulled up in front of the cabin though Draco and his truck were nowhere in sight. He quickly threw on his shoes and rushed out to the vehicle to inspect it. Walking around slowly, he noted that there were some dents he imagined could be fixed or at least that's what he hoped, and he would definitely pay for it to be done. He only hoped it still ran, or it would be very difficult to return it and get to the airport. The thought had him resting his hand on the hood; it was warm. Draco must have driven it back. Of course he had, that would be why Draco's truck was no where around. He must still be half asleep or he would have realized that. How long had he been sleeping for Draco to have managed to go uncover the jeep, get it out of the ditch, and drive it back? How had he even managed to get it out of the ditch? What version levi charm lifted something that large and heavy? Was the other man still walking back to get his own truck? He could drive to get the other man, but that would defeat the purpose, as the truck would be left on the side of the road. He could see if he could catch up and drive the man to his truck, but as the blond was nowhere in sight he would probably already be to his crush by the time Harry could catch up to him. Feeling cold, he opened the door and pulled on his coat, proceeding to pull everything else out and take it inside to sort through.

He was attempting to get everything he wanted to keep back into his knapsack when he heard the truck pull up out front. He looked up to see Draco stumble in the door and nearly collapse to the floor, catching himself by leaning on the wall and sliding down a ways.

"Austin, what's wrong?" Harry asked rushing to the other man's side.

"I think you gave me the flu," Draco replied weakly in rough voice.

Harry helped the blonde to the couch and covered him with a blanket, where the man immediately laid back and closed his eyes with a groan. He then went out the back and across to the building on the left.

He stood with his hand on the knob of the door into the potions lab, hesitating. This was Draco's place. His private place. It was awkward enough that Harry knew that Austin was Draco but to enter into his private place, a master's potions lab at that, was very nearly sacred. On top of that, it was all even more awkward. Entering felt like something he shouldn't do without permission, but the man was ill and needed the potions that were in that building. He could probably send for Mel, there were usually two or three owls a day that stopped by with orders or to pick up orders. He could send one of those to Merl's Mount. She could come up and check on Draco. He still might do that but in the meantime it would be better to get the blond started on potions to help him sleep and heal. It was time to stop being a coward, to show his Gryffindor bravery.

He took a deep breath, bracing himself, bit his lower lip, and turned the knob. Stepping in felt like stepping in to Ms. Masters' lab...

John led the way to a small house near the edge of town, set off by itself, with Harry and Mark trailing behind. Harry's mind was still running through the possible careers of these two men when they stopped at the front door. As all three men stood on the porch, Mark reached up and knocked on the door. A moment later a statuesque, coffee bean skinned witch was greeting them with a large friendly smile.

"John, Mark, good to see you gentlemen," she said stepping back and gesturing for them to come in.

"Sharnell," Mark took her by both hands, leaned in, and pressed a light kiss to her cheek.

"Ma'am," John said as he shook her hand.

She laughed lightly, "Oh John, I've told you to call me Sharnell. There is no need to be so formal."

"Yes ma'am," John said with a bit of a smirk and a wink.

All three laughed and turned to Harry.

"Harry, this is my cousin Sharnell Masters, one of the best potions masters in the country if not the world,"

Mark said by way of introduction. "Sharnell, this is Harry Potter, though if anyone asks about his visit for any reason, please call him James Evans. We don't expect that to happen, but just in case."

"Welcome Harry," she held out a hand.

He took it and said, "Thank you Ms. Masters."

"Oh no, not you too," she shook her head and chuckled. "Please call me Sharnell."

"Well then, thank you Sharnell, for taking time out of your day to see me," Harry replied.

"Nell, we're going to head back to the center of town to the coffee shop, so we're out of your hair," Mark said checking his watch. "You know how to call me if you finish early. Harry, your portkey leaves in three hours. We can arrange another one if need be, but it really would be best if you made this one, as the portkey office manager here can be rather cantankerous We'll be back to get you in two and a half hours to be sure we can get you there on time. If you still need to talk to Sharnell more after that, you can owl or possibly floo depending on where you're staying."

Harry nodded, "Thank you again for all you've done to help me gentlemen."

Both men waved away the thanks as they left the house.

"Come," Sharnell said, turning to walk down a short hall to a closed door, "I have a few potions brewing and I hate to leave them for long; besides the whole reason you're coming to talk to me is because of my brewing and teaching, so you may as well see where it all happens."

She opened the door and Harry was met with such an array of scents he wondered how she managed to tell the difference. Lining the center of the room were five cauldrons of various sizes and metals. Along the back wall were glass fronted cabinets, from the left to the right he could see ingredients, completed potions, and empty flasks, bottles, knives, and other tools.

The walls were painted a warm cream color; at least, what walls there were. The back wall over the cabinets was mostly windows as was the wall to his left. The wall to the right had large sliding glass doors. All of the various glass had curtains pulled to the side. Looking up he also saw three skylights along the center of the room directly above the row of cauldrons.

"Everything okay Harry?" Sharnell asked when she turned to find him standing stock still just a few steps into the room.

"I'm surprised that's all. I've just never seen a potions lab that was so bright and warm, you could call it cheerful even," he said.

"Ah yes," she replied, "so many masters have dark, dank, cold stone rooms for their labs. I think it comes from our schooling and the notion of secrecy. At Ilvermorny the potions classroom is on the first floor with only a few small grimy windows. We worked by torch light and lanterns."

He laughed, "There are no windows in the potions classroom at Hogwarts either. We used the same lighting. Makes me wonder what potions classrooms are like at other wizarding schools in the world."

"I don't know about that, but I'm curious now too. I've heard rumors that the potions classroom at Hogwarts is in the dungeons," she said, "is that true?"

"Yes," he replied a bit of shock on his face, "I'm surprised Draco never told you that. Both of the potions professors that were there during our time were also his head of house. The Slytherin dorms are in the dungeon so it may be related. I don't know for sure but it makes sense; then again, the other dorms aren't really near the classrooms of their Heads so maybe not. The only window in the entire dungeon that I know of is in the Slytherin common room, and it looks out into the lake which gives the room an almost eerie glow."

"You can sit there," she pointed to a stool near a counter on his right. "Draco didn't talk much about Hogwarts; he listed all the potions you learned to make and spoke highly of Professor Snape, less so of Professor Slughorn, but he did say that the man was an adequate teacher. He didn't talk about much at all other than whatever we were working on at the time. I didn't get the feeling that he was unsociable, just that he wanted to leave the past in England and Scotland. Occasionally I could get him talking about current events here in the States but that was fairly rare. He was dedicated to learning to master the craft, and he was a great student with a natural talent for potion making, who was determined to be the best potions master he could possibly be. He refused to settle on his talent. He pushed himself daily to improve his skills. I'm not sure what else I can tell you."

"He's never been a big talker but sometimes I learned more about him from just watching him. I know you were probably busy teaching and observing his work. But if I asked you to describe him... to describe him as a person, what would you say?" Harry asked as he sat on the stool, watching her move to stir one cauldron with a glass rod.

He could see her thinking as she gathered a few ingredients, added them to a second cauldron, and increased the heat on a third.

She brushed off her hands and came to sit next to him, "He is meticulous, a perfectionist but eager to learn and most definitely dedicated to the field. He had more interest in healing and care potions than in any others, but put just as much effort into learning all I could teach him. He's not afraid to try something different and learn from his mistakes. He is a private person and wanted to live where there were very few other people. He told me he preferred being here in Sayre than in New York City, crowds made him uncomfortable, though that didn't stop him from performing exemplarily when he went to MACUSA for his final assessment there. Impressive, considering he was being judged and watched the whole time by thirty people, and it was a week long process with little to no sleep."

She stopped for a moment and looked off into the distance, "I know after the attacks on September 11 he was in near panic that his mother would think he was there in the city, though he had no reason to be. He actually sent me letters to send on to her in case something happened with the ones he'd sent from California. She was the only person from back home he ever spoke about. I could always tell when she'd sent him a letter because he'd come in a bit sad. I got the feeling he wanted to be here, wanted to be away from everything, but was worried that he was disappointing her by not being there with her."

"He never mentioned letters from anyone else?" Harry asked trying to keep the tone of disappointment from his voice and failing.

She smiled slightly, "I take it you wrote to him?"

He nodded.

"No, he never mentioned letters from anyone else. He didn't mention the ones from his mother either-- I always had to ask about them. It was the only time I could get him to talk about anything from back in the UK. He was happy when she moved in with her sister, that they had reconciled and she wouldn't be alone with him here. How is she, by the way? I take it not well."

"No," Harry paused and grimaced, taking a long, slow breath and letting it out before continuing. "She's fading. That's really the best way to put it though it seems inadequate, and no one knows why. She seemed a bit better when she learned I was coming here, but that doesn't mean she's going to recover."

She patted his knee, "You'll find Draco, I have a feeling if anyone can find him it will be you."

"What makes you think that?"

She shrugged her shoulders and moved to once again check her potions in progress, "I don't really know, but you seem as determined to find him as he was to be a potions master. People with that level of determination rarely fail to achieve their goals. You did manage to defeat Voldemort did you not?"

"Not without a lot of help and a healthy dose of luck," he protested. "This time I'm alone, or at least I will be once I get to California and I can't count on luck."

"I would never count on luck," she said, "just enjoy it when it goes your way."

He cocked his head to one side and smiled, "This lab suits you."

"Thank you. I find the natural light more revealing when it comes to the colors of potions. I do the majority of my brewing during daylight hours unless the potion itself calls for night brewing."

"So Draco would most likely be somewhere with a lot of light."

She thought for a moment, "He took to my methods of brewing, so yes I think he would be in an area where he can get quite a bit of light. Somewhere not often stricken with storms and hazy days. Does that help at all?"

"I'm not sure. I'm unfamiliar with the area he was sending mail from but it could be, or he could have been traveling quite a bit to send letters and packages. I guess I'll find out more when I get there. In the meantime it gives me an idea of what to look for when I visit people, buildings with quite a few windows or a few very large windows. Just something to keep in mind."

"Well I'm glad I could be of some assistance," she smiled warmly.

"You absolutely have," he smiled back. "Possibly more than I know now. Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me."

"You're very welcome Harry."

Looking around Harry thought she would feel right at home here, as Draco had set up his lab nearly identical to hers, which should make it easier to find what he was looking for. He hadn't spent more than a few hours with the witch, but he was there long enough to get an idea of her organization. Had he seen it back in his Hogwarts days, he probably wouldn't have actually paid enough attention to what he saw to remember, but thanks to his auror training, his observational skills were much improved. He now regularly took in the scene around him and quickly made mental notes of what he was seeing, even when he wasn't officially on the job. Her organization style had made it even easier for him to remember.

He walked straight to the middle cabinet and sure enough found just what he was looking for. He packed up the potions in a small box from the bottom most shelf and went back to the cabin.

When he returned he found Draco still sprawled on the couch but rapidly falling asleep. He didn't want to wake the man but he knew how much better the blond would sleep if he had taken the pain potion first so he sat down on the ottoman and laid a hand on the other man's shoulder.

"Austin… Austin… wake up just for a moment, I've got potions for you. I know how well they work. I can get you aspirin as well if you want but start with the potions," his voice just above a whisper.

Draco opened bleary eyes and put out a shaking hand to take the first bottle, "So cold," he muttered.

Harry helped him steady his hand to drink first the pain potion, then the fever reducer, and finally the dreamless sleep. Then he added another quilt to the man's covers, stirred up the fire to warm the room, and let him sleep.

The next day, while sitting and watching over the sleeping man, he laughed at the image in his head of a rather bedraggled looking Draco answering the door at the manor when he had arrived for their biweekly tea that popped into his head seeing at the man's hair spread out all over the pillow and his face.

"Potter," Draco said roughly, "It is Thursday isn't it?" He ran a hand through his already disheveled strands.

Harry fought the urge to ask what was wrong knowing the proud man before him would simply bristle at the question, "Yes it is, but if you and Narcissa are busy I'll just come back next week."

"I'm busy and Mother is ill," Draco said.

"Ill?" Harry asked worry ringing in his voice.

"Oh it's nothing serious," Draco said, "she's just wearing herself out with all of the cleaning she's doing and she came across some cursed object hidden in the back of the china cabinet."

"Cursed?!?" Harry nearly shouted.

"Relax Potter, It was nothing too bad. The auror on duty was able to get a healer here immediately and dispatch it. Apparently it was a common curse meant to leave the afflicted weak and vulnerable. One so common and thought to be so insignificant the original auror team overlooked it in their search of the room. It simply exacerbated her already tired state and allowed a fairly standard virus to come in. She is healed but still tired and I'm using guilt to keep her in bed until she's feeling completely herself, taking care of her as much as she'll let me."

"And doing all of the work she had been doing by yourself so she won't have to do it," Harry guessed.

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of all of it by myself," Draco argued.

Harry held up both hands, "I never said you weren't, but as you're obviously too busy we'll skip tea. I'll come back for that next week. In the meantime you go on back to work and I'll just pop up and check in with Narcissa. I'd hate for her to think I didn't bother coming by today."

Draco bit back a frustrated groan at not being able to get rid of Potter as quickly as he had wanted. He shrugged and stepped back into the entry hall, "Fine, just be sure to knock before you go in. Her room is the third on the right up the stairs."

Harry passed the blond and began making his way up the elaborate sweeping ebony staircase only to stop halfway up and watch Draco walk back down the hall seemingly muttering to himself and hunched over in a very non-Malfoy way. He shook his head at the man's stubbornness but couldn't help smiling as he admired it as well. He found his way to Narcissa's door and knocked three times, then waited.

"Yes?" came the curious reply from the room.

"Narcissa, it's Harry. I just wanted to check on you."

"Just a moment dear."

Harry could hear some rustling that must have been sheets and bedcovers.

"You may enter," she called.

Harry opened the door to see the woman sitting up in bed under what appeared to be four or five layers of various covers. The topmost being what he thought was called a duvet in a deep purple. The pillows she leaned against were the same shade. The bed itself was one of the largest he had ever seen. Dark mahogany wood, with four posts that must have been at least two and a half meters tall, each coming to a point at the top with a bit of a flair just below. They gave the impression of a bed supported on each corner by spears. The floor was covered in a thick rich forest green wall to wall carpet. The room overall seemed dark, but the only light was a lantern sitting on the mahogany side table next to Narcissa, who sat on the left of the bed as Harry looked at it, so that probably enhanced the darkness. In a not so quick glance around the room as he walked toward the bed, he took in the floor to ceiling curtains that matched the duvet closed tight and a large but surprisingly simple stone fireplace on the wall facing the bed to the right of the door. Paintings hung on the wall but their occupants were all missing no doubt in other portraits in the manor or other Black or Malfoy homes.

"How are you?" he asked placing a kiss on Narcissa's cheek.

"I am feeling much better. There was no need for you to come Harry dear," she reassured him.

"It is Thursday, though had I known you were sick I would have come sooner. I might have to have a word or two with my colleagues. Someone should have told me, should have said something. Have they conducted a more thorough search through your open rooms yet?"

"Ah it is Thursday, I can have Tinky bring tea up here if you would still like to join me," she said thoughtfully.

He twisted and chewed his bottom lip for a second before replying, "If you're feeling up to it, though, you should have Draco join us. He's worried about you."

"And needs to rest himself," she sighed, "he's taken on the task of sorting and cleaning everything. He won't even let Tinky help."

"He's not testing any of the objects for curses is he?"

She shook her head, "No doubt he would if he could, but I do believe we were reminded by the head auror on our detail that that would be against the conditions of the house arrest, rather more forcefully that was necessary."

"At which point Draco reminded them just as forcefully that it wouldn't be an issue if they had done their jobs properly to begin with, right?" Harry asked biting back a grin at the thought of some of his more superior superiors being put in their place by his former nemesis.

Narcissa grimaced, "They were complaining about it at the office. I knew that would happen. I warned Draco to stay out of it but -"

"But I refused to listen," Draco finished his mother's sentence as he entered the room. "I know, I know. I shouldn't antagonize the aurors here, but I wasn't doing anything other than stating the truth."

"It wasn't what you said darling boy but how you said it. You must remember to watch your tone," she admonished her son, whose only response was to drop his head slightly.

Harry laughed, "Draco watch his tone? Sorry, sorry, rude I know, but I'm not sure he could and quite honestly in this case he had every right to be upset. Absolutely nothing has been said about it at the office, which is really just proof that he was in the right. The aurors would be complaining if they had a leg to stand on, but they don't. They messed up and they know it. A much more thorough job has been done now?"

"Yes, Potter."

"Draco," again Narcissa admonished her son.

Both men ignored her, "The other rooms will be more carefully checked as well before they are cleared for you to enter them then, I'm sure. Actually," Harry said, "I'd like to have a friend come and double check the work if he's willing to consent to it. He's a cursebreaker for Gringotts and could probably make quick work of checking the rooms after the Ministry officials are done."

"Why Potter, you don't even trust your own coworkers?" Draco asked eyes wide.

Harry shook his head, "I know some of them too well, or at least some of their attitudes."

"If one or both of us were to accidentally trigger the right curse it could put them out of the misery, having to deal with us," Draco intoned.

"Unfortunately yes," Harry replied. "I'd feel safer Narcissa, if you'd let me talk to my friend and see if he'd come in, or maybe send someone he trusts."

Narcissa raised her chin and tilted her head just slightly to the left, "Thank you Harry dear that would be much appreciated. Now shall we have tea?"

"Mother, you should be resting," it was Draco's turn to scold.

"I'm feeling perfectly fine darling," she protested.

Harry, seeing the circles starting to form under her eyes quickly spoke, "I should go and contact Bill now then,and find out when the Ministry will be done with each room, which means I'll need get an appointment with Minister Shacklebolt, so I'd better get back to work. I'll be back on Tuesday and we can have tea then."

"Well if you're quite sure Harry dear."

"Yes ma'am I am. I'll be back Tuesday and possibly before if I hear from Bill or maybe just to check on you," he winked and again kissed her cheek.

"Thank you Potter," Draco said as he walked with Harry back down the stairs to the door.

"This really is wearing her out, isn't it. I don't know that I noticed before and I should have. I apologize."

"Don't," Draco insisted, "much as tea annoys me, she enjoys it and it does make her take time to stop and rest at least a few days a week. Your asking the cursebreaker to come will also ease her mind. Think the eldest Weasley will do it?"

"How did you--? Nevermind. I should never be surprised at what you know. I don't know if Bill will come, but because it's me asking he will at least recommend someone to me, someone we can trust."

"Better than we can trust your co-workers?" Draco asked.

"Yes," Harry replied. "You're well aware that some of them still harbor prejudices and anger over what they perceive as justice not being served. It's not fair, and it's not right, especially from those that are supposed to be impartial and keep their feelings out of their job. Bill will either be impartial or if he feels he can't be, he will be able to recommend someone who will. Then again, knowing him he might just do it for the sheer challenge."

"Then by all means, call him. Mother will certainly feel better knowing that everything is actually safe."

"Obviously it's none of my business," Harry began.

"Then don't say anything," Draco retorted.

Harry just sighed.

"I don't know how she didn't know it was there," Draco said, anticipating Harry's question. "Before everything, Father kept close track of everything in the Manor; what it was, what it could do, and its location. I don't recall him ever putting anything where it might accidentally be stumbled upon but when," he hesitated, clenched his jaw, and spit out, "Voldemort lived here, along with so many of his followers including my insane aunt, things moved around. They may have been stolen from us or others. They may have been brought from outside the house then hidden here. It could even have been Father in a last-ditch effort to save a few artifacts. The aurors were coming to investigate after all, but that makes the least sense. He had to turn over all of his records to the Ministry. They were sure it was all of his records because they gave him veritaserum."

"That's one policy that bothers me," Harry said grimacing, "I understand the purpose, but it removes all sense of privacy. Theoretically, and in reality aurors, can and do ask anything trying to break a witness, trying to catch them off guard. If what I've seen of the Muggle police on the television is accurate they often use similar techniques in questioning. They also have a lie detector test, some mechanical thing that measures heart rate and I don't know what else, but there are people who apparently can fool it. I don't know if there's ever been anyone who's been able to resist the effects veritaserum. I want to catch those who have committed crimes as much as anyone, but I also know that there are people who get a taste of power and carry it too far, and veritaserum just makes that too easy."

"If there were someone who could resist veritaserum," Draco said, "I would imagine they were smart enough to give satisfactorily truthful answers to enough questions, so that when they lied it wasn't obvious, but you're right I've never heard of anyone being able to resist. Besides, if someone had found a way to resist or beat it, they would eventually brag about it or write some anonymous letter to the world, telling them how to do it if for no other reason than to antagonize the auror corps."

"Very good point," Harry acknowledged. "It makes me wonder if it's even possible. It almost makes me want to try and do it myself...almost."

Draco looked at him consideringly for a moment, "If anyone could get away with testing it, it would be you."

Harry shrugged, "Doesn't mean I should do it though. It would just lead to some potioneer trying to create a stronger version and who knows what that might do."

They were both quiet for a moment before realizing they had been standing at the door for several moments. Harry told Draco he'd be back as soon as he had an answer, or for tea on Tuesday, whichever came first.

 **A/N thanks to my amazing beta my niece HippogriffRider77 you should check out her stories, as always reviews are welcomed and appreciated**


	11. Caring for Draco

Harry shook his head once again at the images of the bedraggled Draco in his memory. Looking over he saw the man sleeping peacefully on the couch, lying facing into the room on his left side, hair brushing over his cheeks. Harry resisted the urge to reach over and brush it back.

Instead, he went to his knapsack and took out the photo of Draco, the one he had been using in his search. As quietly as he could he moved and sat on the ottoman looking at the picture and then at the man lying before him searching for similarities.

They were the same man, unless this man had done something to Draco and that was why he had his things, or had bought a piano that Draco had left his things in. He could even just know Draco, and be covering for him. That just didn't make sense though. He was overthinking things. The simplest explanation was nearly always the correct explanation. That meant that this was Draco, hiding for some reason. If only he could get it out of the man as to why. Since he couldn't talk to the man at the moment, he leaned forward elbows on his knees, the picture of Draco in his hands between his legs.

His eyes traveled back and forth between the picture and the figure on the couch. The hair was still blonde, but several shades darker and longer; just a few inches past the shoulders, long enough that he could pull it back in a ponytail at his neck, which was exactly what he did while cutting wood. The texture seemed rougher looking at it. It seemed odd to notice something like the texture visually, but he did. Draco's hair was smooth and shiny while Austin's hair was rougher, certainly messier. Draco had never let his hair look like that except in two times--no, three-- that Harry could recall. That time at the Manor he had just remembered, when he found him in the loo sixth year and they fought, then after they had flown out of the Room of Requirement away from the fiendfyre; even then, one of the first things Draco had done was to run his hands through his hair and smooth it, almost instinctively as he ran away.

From the first moment Harry remembered seeing Austin clearly, the hair was not unkempt but not perfectly coiffed either. Hair color was a fairly easy thing to change even in the Muggle world. Using a simple potion or a box of hair dye like Aunt Petunia frequently used was all that was necessary. Harry hadn't seen the man use either, but he had only been here just over a week and most of the other man's time was spent in the potions lab outside. Austin's eyes were different too. Draco's were grey nearly silver. There might have been a hint of other color to them very soft blue or green but Harry had never gotten that close or looked at him that intently when they were. He tried for a moment to recall Draco on the night he had been called to identify Harry at the Manor after they had been captured by the Snatchers. Harry's face had been so swollen though he was barely able to even squint. He absolutely could not see clearly so Draco's face was blurry. Austin's eyes were a rather piercing shade of blue. Austin's skin was a golden tan, a shade Harry nor anyone else, he was sure, could have imagined Draco's being. He had always assumed Draco would sunburn viciously his skin was so pale, nearly porcelain. However, hours in the sun here, in the forest cutting wood for hours could do that, though he supposed that could also be a potion but again it made more sense that it was a tan. Draco had also always been clean shaven while Austin maintained a fairly closely cropped beard and and mustache a bit darker than his hair.

He stood and moved back to his knapsack putting the picture away. Then he turned and leaned against the table facing the couch, watching the sleeping man. It dawned on him that he had not once considered the possibility of Polyjuice since finding out that Austin was Draco. It was something he had discussed with Mel and Mikey, something he had considered while searching, but no longer. Perhaps it was knowing the side effects of the potion, particularly with long term use, and knowing that a potion master like Draco would also be aware of them. Draco was a risk-taker, as a Slytherin that was natural, but a calculated risk taker, and continued use of Polyjuice Potion was not a calculated risk. It was a dumb one.

Harry sighed quietly, then moved to the stove to begin making lunch. As he did the memory from earlier came back and with it the memory of his next visit to the manor.

Tinky answered the door this time, "Mr. Harry! It is being Sunday. Mistress is not expecting you," she scolded in her squeaky high pitched voice.

Harry replied, "I know; I apologize. I know I shouldn't come unexpected and I will apologize to Narcissa, but I just came from the Weasleys, where I was able to speak to Bill about coming and checking over the house for any further cursed items."

The little elf hopped on her toes, her eyes bright. She squealed and then said, "Mr. Harry come in, come in. This is good good news. We must tell Mistress Narcissa. Mistress will be very happy. She has been so worried that Master Draco would find something else cursed and not be saved in time. Master would not listen when Mistress asked him to stop working. Tinky tried to stop him but house elveses is not strong enough to stop Masters from doing what they wants to do, even when they have orders from another Master or Mistress."

Harry followed Tinky down the hall and out into the back garden. The mistress of the house was sitting at a small, round, wrought iron table in the midst of what had been over the summer a large blooming rose garden.

Narcissa rose and came to him both hands extended, "Harry dear, what a surprise."

He took both of her hands in his and pressed a to kiss her cheek as he always did when he greeted her, "I know," he said sheepishly. "I apologize, but I come with news."

"Good news I hope," she said taking her taking her seat once more and gesturing for him to join her.

He nodded and explained to her the reason for his visit.

"Bill said he should have a day this week when he can come out and go over the Manor. In his job he's learned to cover large areas quickly but effectively. He's going to let me know could I can come along."

"He's hoping to put us at ease by bringing you, I assume."

"And perhaps to put himself at ease," Harry acknowledged, "but it's also that I would like to learn some of these spells. They could quite come in quite handy in my job. We do have curse specialists on the auror team, and I don't intend to be one of them, but it's always a handy skill. Especially as there isn't always a specialist with us on investigations."

"And someone more well-rounded in the auror corps as you will be," she said knowingly, "could move up the ranks much more quickly than someone who was not."

He shrugged, "I wasn't really thinking about it that way, but you have a point."

She laughed, "Either Draco was mistaken of his impressions of you in school or you are growing and changing. The Harry he used to complain about would never have been so good at politics or political maneuvering."

"No," Harry chuckled. "I'm sure his stories contain some exaggeration but until recently it's not the way my mind would work. Obviously, since I didn't think of it until you said anything, but I would rather be in charge than following someone else. Unless I knew I was, and could be fully confident in their abilities as I always have been with Hermione."

"Miss Granger," Naricssa nodded once consideringly, "or is it Mrs. Weasley now? They have married have they not?"

"Yes they're married. She choose to hyphenate Granger-Weasley."

"Ah, a modern woman."

"I don't know if it's that," Harry said, "or simply a way to distinguish herself from the rest of the Weasley Clan, or just that she feels she's made a name for herself and wants to continue to be recognized for it."

"It could certainly help the cause of tolerance, if the name of the most of the most famous Muggleborn in wizarding society remains part of everyday conversations at the Ministry and in the papers. I myself can't deny that she was a large part of what saved us all, and that I may have been misguided, no certainly was misguided by my family traditions and beliefs. Mr. Weasley will be made most welcome when he comes. We greatly appreciate his offer of assistance."

"He did ask that no one touch anything that you have not frequently used and that you do no more cleaning until he's able to come."

"I can certainly wait," she replied, "and I would be more concerned about Draco waiting but he seems to have fallen victim to the same virus I had and somehow we've run out of the potions necessary to cure him. As it is the weekend and I have to have an auror approve my shopping, it seems that will have to wait until at least tomorrow."

Harry laughed at the twinkle in her eyes and the smirk on her face, "Well that's one way to get him to do what you want when he refuses to listen."

"I have absolutely no idea what you might be insinuating," she said imperiously as she winked at him. "Would you like to stay for tea Harry dear? I was planning on having it out here this afternoon as the weather is so agreeable."

"Just a small cup. We had a rather large lunch today. Molly made a bigger meal than normal, as the entire family with the exception of Charlie was able to make it, and she insists on sending home leftovers with George, Ron, Hermione, and me."

She sat back in her chair and looked out over the empty rose bushes. "It must be wonderful to have such a large family and have them be so close."

He leaned forward in his chair, placing a hand over hers on the table, "Narcissa-"

She turned and smiled weakly, "Oh ignore me dear. I am fortunate to have my health and my son. I will be happier once our time here is up and I can make the changes I'd like to make, but in the meantime I am content."

"Why I don't I go let Tinky know we're having tea and check in with Draco?" Harry suggested, wanting to give the proud woman a moment alone.

"That would be lovely, thank you Harry."

After a quick stop in the kitchen, Harry made his way up the elaborate stairs, arriving at the top only to realize he had no idea which room was Draco's. Looking down the hall he decided he would try the doors on the left side of the hall as Narcissa's room had been on the right. The first two rooms were closed but unlocked and after knocking and receiving no answer he opened each door to find empty bedrooms. The third door opened into a large elaborate bathroom. The final door on the left side of the hall was several meters down from the bathroom and was closed.

Harry knocked.

"Mother, I'm fine!" came the croaky voice on the other side, "You don't need to hover over me. I can let you or Tinky know if I need anything."

"Oh so I'm Mother now? I'll have to remember that, does that make you Father or 'my darling boy'," Harry replied extra cheerfully.

"Potter? Go away!"

"Aw, but my darling boy I just came up to check on you."

"I'm fine, go away! And don't call me that!" Draco growled.

"Nope, I think I should see how my chess partner is face to face. And I might drop the name for now but it will be back," Harry said.

"Not a chance," Draco said. "You'll just catch this whatever it is if I let you in. If you ever call me that again you will pay!"

Harry chuckled, "Ah but I have potions at home I can treat myself with so I'm not worried. Besides you don't scare me."

"Bloody hell Potter! Go pester someone else! You're not coming in here!"

"What are you going to do to stop me?" Harry asked playfully.

"I just won't be here when you open the door."

"You can't apparate," Harry protested.

"In the house and on the grounds I can, and I know this place better than you have any chance of ever knowing it," the gravelly voice was now just on the other side of the door. "Go away!"

"Let me in and I'll have Kreacher bring over the potions you need," Harry bargained.

"I don't need your charity," Draco insisted.

"It's not charity," Harry replied. "Just an offer, but if you're going to be this much of a prat I'll go back and have tea with your mother as she asked."

"You do that!"

Harry shook his head and chuckled softly to himself as he walked back down the hall.

Draco had always been stubborn and proud. Harry didn't get the same feeling from Austin, and he wondered what had brought about the change. It seemed genuine, not just an act. He stirred the soup in the pot and looked up to find an owl about to peck on the window. He rushed to the door to let the bird in so that it wouldn't wake the man on the couch.

Taking the small scroll from the bird's leg as it rested on the porch rail, he turned back into the cabin and looked around for owl treats, knowing there must be some; he'd seen owls come and go from the cabin before, though he knew most went to the lab. It was amazing that they seemed to know which building to go to to find someone. Not finding the treats quickly he went back outside.

As Harry read the parchment, an order for several potions, another owl swooped down to rest on the back porch railing, followed quickly by a third.

"Ok," he said looking at the three of them perched so patiently. "Come with me." He turned and cast a quick charm on the pot to keep it from burning, then closed the door and walked to the lab. He opened the door and stood back as the three owls flew in and perched on the counter against the door wall. Shaking his head, he took the parchment from each and laid them flat on the table.

"Just a moment, I'll see what I can find. Sorry," he said to the owls then shook his head wondering just how much they understood him. Hedwig had always seemed to completely get what he was saying anytime he spoke to her, but they had been together for so many years it made sense. These birds had just shown up here. Then again, owls were chosen by wizards for their wisdom, so...

He took out his wand and cast a quick Accio to retrieve the treats; after feeding them to the birds, he sat down and looked over the orders. One was from Mel, that was incredible timing. He could send it straight back and ask her to come by. He sat down to write a quick note doing just that. When that owl flew off through a spot in the wall Harry hadn't noticed and probably wouldn't have noticed, he walked over to take a closer look, and attempted to reach through the wall -- but his hand stopped, and as he pulled back yet another owl flew in causing him to jump back. Hmmm must be like Platform 9 but only for owls; he really is bloody brilliant.

Harry collected the parchment from the new owl and took all three back to the cabinets, setting out what he could send with the owls, stopping about halfway through to grab a few long pieces of parchment to make a list of what he was sending out and what was still needed for each order. Then he wrote a note explaining that Austin had taken ill and he, James, was assisting by filling orders and keeping records until he was well. Swishing his wand he made multiple copies of the note then attached them with the orders he could fill to each owl respectively and sent them on their way.

A few hours later, after having had lunch and cleaned up the leftovers, he sat at the table reading through his journal yet again, making notes of questions to ask Draco when he awoke to try and get him to admit to his true identity. He had gone back and forth all day on whether or not it was appropriate to even question Draco when he was ill. The blond was more likely to say things he wouldn't when he had his full faculties, but was that okay? It clearly wasn't ethical, but in the interests of Narcissa's health it might be worth it. Then again, he could just tell "Austin" why he was in the States and let Draco know what what was happening with his mother without letting on that he knew who the man was; but that seemed awfully convoluted. At one point, he considered not giving the man Dreamless Sleep with his next batch of potions as then Draco might be awake and clear enough to answer questions, but tossed that idea when he realized that might mean the man would dream and possibly talk in his sleep, which was an invasion of privacy. He was chewing his bottom lip, clicking his pen in and out when he heard the truck pull up outside.

He met Mel at the door, "Thanks for coming. I'm pretty sure he has what I had and I've been treating it the same but I would appreciate you checking him over just in case."

"Absolutely Harry," Mel replied as she passed him on hey way into the cabin. "By the way, your friends were quite nice when I phoned. Hermione was concerned that you were ill, but I was able to reassure her that you were being well taken care of, though Ron seemed to have some reservations after I filled them in. Hermione was able to reassure him by pointing out a few things."

Harry chuckled softly, "I can only imagine." Ron would never trust Draco to take care of Harry, but no doubt Hermione had reminded him that Draco wouldn't dare hurt Harry in any way due to the attention it would bring, and since Mel knew where Harry was and could check on him and report anything suspicious she saw. "You can tell me more later."

He moved over to the sofa and laid a hand on the shoulder of the man sleeping there, shaking gently, "Austin...Austin."

The blond came awake slowly, blinking his eyes and stretching a bit.

"Sorry," Harry said softly, "I hate to wake you but Mel is here to check on you."

"M'ok," the other man mumbled. "No need for healer."

"Uh huh," Mel shook her head. "You certainly sound as articulate as you did when you came to town last week."

"Just tired," he replied groggily.

"Well just tired, I'm going to check you over real quick then you can get back to sleep," she smiled at Harry again, shaking her head slightly.

She pulled out her wand and cast a few diagnostic spells, nodding her head as each ended, then she began to ask him a few questions.

"So besides tired, how do you feel? Wait, before you answer and tell me your fine, let me be more specific. Have you had any chills or felt extremely warm?"

He shrugged in response.

"Ok, I'll just take the two quilts and the blanket lying on the floor next to you as an answer. Does your head hurt?"

"Not anymore."

She turned to Harry raising an eyebrow.

"Yes he's had a pain potion today, and when he first came in telling me he was sick, he said he thought I gave him the flu. He also mentioned that he was cold, so cold were his words. Since then he has alternated between shivering, burying himself under the covers as much as he can in a near fetal position, and kicking them on the floor."

She nodded and turned back to the other man, "Any body aches when you had that headache?"

"Well, I had just gotten done climbing around the ditch to check out Potter's jeep and then getting it out of the ditch, driving it back, and then walking back to get my own truck," he grumbled.

"I just love cooperative patients," she chirped rolling her eyes. "Does your throat hurt at all?"

"Breathing this cold air for hours can do that."

At this point Harry turned away and bit his lip to keep from laughing, Draco was sounding like himself, like his old pretentious, prideful, prickly self, too good to accept any help.

"Any coughing?"

"I've been sleeping, I wouldn't know," he nearly growled and then immediately began to cough.

Mel bit her lip, "Yes it seems you do have the flu that Harry had."

"Thanks Potter," Draco snapped.

Harry put his fist up to his mouth pressing in to keep from bursting out laughing. His body shook with the effort. The accent might be an American one, but the Malfoy disdain was ringing through clear as a bell.

Mel said to Harry, "Treatment is the same, it should pass in about the same amount of time. If you need anything let me know. I'll send my owl back in a few days rather than come up myself unless I hear from you before then."

"Sounds good," Harry said, "I'll walk you out. Austin, if you're hungry, I made soup earlier; I can bring you a bowl when I come back in."

He got a grunt in reply as the blond rooted back into the couch.

After the door closed, and Harry had cast a quick silencing charm on it, they both broke into laughter. "Thanks for coming, Mel. Would you do me a favor?" He said when they stopped.

"Call Ron and Hermione again?" she asked knowingly.

"Please, let them know I'll be home as soon as I can, but I'm not leaving him here alone and sick. I can't do that. He would never agree to go to your clinic and you shouldn't make this drive every day, you have other patients."

"I would make the trip if needed or send someone else but it's probably good for him to have someone here with him all of the time. If for no other reason than to track his potions and food intake."

He nodded, "I'm not going anywhere. Even if he weren't sick I'd be trying to find a way to stay. I'm just not ready to leave yet."

She looked at him consideringly, "Have you told him you know who he is?"

Harry grimaced. "No. I don't know how to bring it up and with everything, well, there really hasn't been time."

"I'll call, but you might want to figure out just how you're going to talk to him and tell him you know, and you might also send a letter to me to pass on to your friends. Something in your own handwriting might be more reassuring. Hermione was happy to hear you had found Draco, but is quite worried about you making it home in time for the baby. Ron on the other hand-"

"Ron is ready to come over and drag me back right now, and drag Draco along with us against his will," Harry interrupted her with a knowing shake of his head, "And he would if he could, Hermione being so close to having their baby is probably the only reason he's not already here."

"Oh yes, at one point he was insisting on coming and telling her he could be back in plenty of time," Mel smiled.

"And she used his full name right?"

"Yes," her eyes sparkled, "Then she quickly apologized to me and thanked me for calling before hanging up."

Harry barked out a laugh, "It's comforting that some things never change. I'll get a note to you as soon as I can. Thank you again."

"No problem," she paused for a moment, tilted her head to look at him, nodded once as if reaching a decision and continued, "you know, when you tell him you know who he is you should tell him how you feel too."

"I don't...what...how…" he stuttered.

She smiled gently, "It's all over your face when you look at him and it's not just friendship."

His cheeks went red, "How can you? He's Austin, not Draco."

Her head shook at the attempted denial and sidestep, "You clearly see Draco in Austin."

"He'd never… it wouldn't matter. We were enemies. Before he moved here, he grew to tolerate me, to tolerate spending time with me. But that was all."

"You never know," she said, having seen the same look on the other's man's face briefly as he was caring for Harry, though Draco had done a better job of hiding it. "People change. Just think about it."

"Okay," he replied. "Though I don't think...never mind, I'll consider it."

"Good, now be sure you stop in town and see us before you leave," she said as she opened the door of her truck.

"I will," he watched her climb in and drive away before going back inside.

The next few days passed in much the same way with Harry fetching potions, Draco sleeping or reading when he was awake, and Harry sending out orders or notes with each owl that came. That was all in between making meals and cleaning up from them, as well as alternating Draco's covers taking them out to hang on a line he found running from the end of the back porch to the lab porch so that they could air out. Harry knew he was just biding time. As soon as Draco was well he would have no excuse to stay, or at least that was what he thought.


	12. Austin's story

"So how did you end up here? Not here in this cabin, you sort of told me that, but how did you end up here in Northern California? You're not from here are you, this area I mean?" Harry asked looking up from the table and the solitaire game spread out in front of him.

Draco just turned from the window where he was standing arms crossed, watching the snow blow and pile up around the cabin, to lift an eyebrow. He didn't bother to say anything. He hadn't had much to say at all in the last day. No sooner had he been back to feeling himself fully than it began to snow, and snow heavily, keeping the two of them trapped together for even longer. He wasn't sure how much longer he could stay in character.

"What?" Harry asked. "We have no idea how long this storm is going to last, but from what I've heard about this area it could be days to weeks, and it's already been two days so really who knows. What else are we going to do? Sit and stare at each other? That sounds fun. I don't see a chess board unless you have one tucked away, or maybe cards for exploding snap. You only have a few books and you've read most of them already. Or do you have some other idea?"

"So instead you want me to regale you with my life story?" Draco drawled, "because that will really fill time and not bore you to death."

"Well hopefully not to death," Harry smirked, "besides it has to be better than sitting and staring outside or at the fire."

Draco shook his head, "I rather enjoy looking outside and watching it snow."

"So stand there, watch it snow, and tell me about yourself. Surely you're capable of doing both at the same time."

"Obviously I am, but I should be out in my lab right now. I have to be running out of potions for orders and in my own stock."

Harry shook his head in disbelief, "You want to be out there right now? You're going to go through this weather?"

"It's not that far," Draco said.

Harry stood up from the couch, walked to the back window by the sink, and pointed out, "The snow is coming down so hard you can't even see the building no matter how close it is. I can barely make out the railing of the back porch."

"I've walked it a thousand times," Draco protested.

"And it's not that far," Harry continued for him. "Still, one step in the wrong direction and you won't get there at all. Instead you'll be wandering in the middle of this and won't be able to find your way back."

"I can apparate there and back."

Harry bit back a sigh of frustration, "You probably could, but if you get to work and get distracted you'll be there for hours, and by the time you realize you should come back you'll be exhausted and you might splinch yourself and I'm no good with that. My healing spells, the ones I know aren't that great. Dittany only only does so much and since it's in your lab, it is certainly too far away in this weather for me to risk going to get it and coming back here. I don't want to apparate there. I'd hate to miss the best landing spot, risking running into and breaking something valuable of yours."

Draco actually growled in frustration, "But I'm falling behind, more than behind since you were kind enough keep filling my orders from my stock and I've been sick for a week over a week. I have to be running out of something. I really need to brew so I don't lose customers. This is my livelihood after all. I can't stay in business or pay for my own supplies if I don't have money coming in, and it won't continue to come in if I can't fill orders. Customers will find someone else to do their brewing."

Harry took a deep breath, "You won't lose customers, certainly not this quickly. They understand your human even if you are a wizard. We all take ill sometimes and now the weather. Their owls won't be able to get through, and they'll find out why somehow, if they don't live close enough to be in the middle of this. I'm sure there's weather forecast on Wizarding radio right?"

Draco nodded in reply, but Harry could see the frustration build in the tightness of his shoulders and the set of his jaw.

"Tell you what," he said after thinking a moment. "I'll make you a deal. I'll apparate with you to the lab so that you can work on your potions and I can be sure you can get back here safely, if you'll tell me your life story while you work."

 _You really should have been a Slytherin._ Draco thought, then spoke, "Fine if that's what it'll take for me to get some work done, but you have to stay out of the way. Or maybe, I might put you to work doing something simple and easy- like cleaning potion bottles and flasks and collecting ingredients, nothing complicated, nothing that might ruin my potions and my reputation."

"Agreed," Harry said while fighting not to smile. It was likely that someone who didn't know him and wouldn't know his potion making abilities would say the same thing, but Draco did know how capable he was, or _wasn't_ and the definitiveness of the pronouncement was absolutely Malfoy.

Draco moved to Harry's side and held out his elbow. Harry grabbed hold. Then came the familiar twisting and squeezing feeling of apparition and their feet landed on the wooden floor at the potions lab.

Draco moved quickly, "You sit there," he pointed at a stool at the counter, on the wall by the door, "and don't expect me to start talking immediately. I have to take stock first."

"No you don't," Harry said. "I made a list of the potions I used, or rather the ones you took. It's part of an inventory as it were. I know you have one in your book, in your ledger, but I didn't want to touch that so there's a piece of parchment stuck to the center cabinet there. I tracked the orders that came in, what I sent out, and what still needs to be made and sent. I thought I'd make it easier for you when you were better."

Draco pulled the list from the cabinet and turned to look at Harry, wide eyed, "Thank you. You didn't have to do that, didn't have to do any of this. Filling my orders was certainly above and beyond. Bad enough you had to take care of me while I was sick."

"Really?" Harry said, "You took me in, a complete stranger, cared for me me when I was injured when you could have sent me off. At the very least when you found Mel, she could have taken me back with her to her clinic and yet you let me stay. The least I could do was to take care of you and repay your kindness."

Draco marveled for a moment at the thought of anyone feeling the need to repay him for kindness. He grew up knowing that you only repaid someone so they wouldn't hold it over your head. You were only kind when it was someone who wouldn't read it the wrong way, or when it would benefit you in the long run. The idea of kindness for kindness sake was something he had been exposed to several times since coming to the States, especially since he'd come to California. He thought he'd come to think of it as normal, maybe it was just that it was Harry that wanted to repay the kindness. If Harry knew who he really was… no, on second thought, Harry would treat him that way no matter what. It was just so Harry, always doing the right thing.

"I didn't do it to be repaid. It was just the right thing to do," Draco replied, a bit surprised to find that he truly meant it. hat even if the man hadn't turned out to be Harry he would have helped him nonetheless. Life here had changed him.

"As was taking care of you," Harry said then put up a hand. "Let's not argue about it. Just do what you need to do to start brewing, and let me know what I can do to help you."

"Well, I know I'll need more pain potion so under that first cauldron, the silver one, build small fire. We can add to it to raise the heat as needed, but that would be a good start. Actually, you could build a small fire under each of them. A bed of wood chips, some parchment scraps, and then four logs in a square to allow the heat to rise better in the middle."

Harry went to work fetching the wood from the porch where it had been stacked since before Draco had come down with the flu. In the corner of the lab he found two buckets, one filled with wood chips and the other with loosely balled up pieces of parchment. As he built the fires he looked up occasionally to watch Draco sort through the ingredients he needed, placing them in sections on the counter. The counter, he noticed, now had lines separating it into sections matching each cauldron.

Once the fires were built he left them for the other man to light, sat on the stool, and just watched. He noticed the blond muttering to himself and wondered if the man realized he was doing it. As the minutes passed and Harry watched, he heard Mel's words echo in his head. He began to notice a change. He could see Draco over Austin, almost like two films overlaid. He saw the confidence in the movements that had always been there in Malfoy. He saw the jawline under the scruff. The movement of his hands as he chopped and sliced ingredients was the same as he had seen in the potions room every year at Hogwarts. With nearly zero effort he could picture the old hawthorn wand in the man's hand as he lit the fires. It was mesmerizing. When Harry realized what he was doing, he thanked every wizard who had come before that Draco had been so busy he hadn't noticed the staring. He turned and pointedly directed his attention out the window to the snow falling, swirling, and blowing.

Several minutes passed with Harry peeking over his shoulder occasionally, to see just what Draco was doing. Each time he found that he focused on something different. One time it was the other man's eyes, the next it was his bum, which left him forcefully shaking his head. When he looked once more he watched the man's hand, then it was again his bum as he leaned over working with the fire, finally it was the hair falling over his face and impatiently being shoved back behind an ear. At this one Harry looked around the room, spotting a small piece of string used normally to tie parchment. He grabbed it and carefully approached the man so intent on his work. Harry reached up and pulled Draco's hair back behind his head, causing the blond to jerk suddenly and then go stone still. After the hair was tied, Draco ran a hand over it then turned to Harry, who had not stepped back. Nearly nose to nose they stood looking into each other's eyes, barely breathing.

Abruptly Draco turned back to his cauldrons, "Thank you." He said in a very carefully measured voice.

Harry took a quiet breath to steady himself before replying in an equally careful tone, "You're welcome. Let me know if you need any help with anything."

"Right now, I have everything under control but I appreciate the offer," Draco said. _And if I need to you to do anything, it will be something that keeps you a good distance away from me because that was simply too dangerous,_ he thought to himself.

Harry returned to his stool, concentrating on his breathing to try and bring his heart rate down to a normal level again. Not long after he slid off the stool, moved over next to the wall, and sat down on the floor; leaning against the wall, legs outstretched in front of him, crossed at the ankles, arms crossed in front of his chest.

Draco looked up from his stirring, cocked his head, squinted and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I figured you'd want the stool so you could watch your potions better and since there's only one, I thought I'd sit here."

The blond shook his head, "You do remember that you're a wizard right? You could transfigure something into another stool or a chair."

Harry shrugged, "Hadn't thought about it. I'm not great at transfiguration anyway. I mean I can do it, but I tend to be better when I don't think about it, when it's just instinctual, more of a reaction. I was just good enough at it to pass the final auror assessments. This is all your stuff. I don't want to irreversibly change something. Besides I don't know what would be alright to change, and really I'm okay down here. It's pretty comfortable."

Again Draco shook his head, "Whatever, if you're comfortable you can stay there but if you'd rather have a chair you can use one of those boxes under the counter."

"Ok, I will if I need to, thanks."

Draco shook his head and went back to work. Nearly an hour later, when all five cauldrons were steaming, the blond finally took a seat on the stool.

"So are you ready to tell me your story now?" Harry asked.

Draco sighed, knowing there was no way around this. Thank goodness he had spent time coming up with a detailed backstory, trying to answer any possible questions that might arise but this was the first time he had really needed to tell it. Most people he had met were satisfied with the bare minimum. Of course most people he met, he talked to very little. He got the feeling if he spent more time in Merl's Mount they would want all the details as well and just might catch him in the lie somehow. All the more reason to stay away, to stay alone. He only hoped the story was good enough to fool Harry, who could be alternately incredibly observant and completely unobservant, sometimes both at the same time.

"There's really not much to tell," Draco began. "I was a rather late baby. My parents had nearly given up hope that they would ever have an heir. They were in their mid 40s when I was born. I'm an only child. We lived in the country in Pennsylvania. My parents wanted to stay close to Philadelphia, specifically an area the NoMajs call Main Line. For both them and us, wizarding kind that is, it's a Society location."

Harry could hear the capital letter just in the way Draco had said society, but he'd probably said it that way his whole life, just in a different accent. Maybe he could just overwhelm him with the details he had worked out.

"I was tutored extensively when I was younger, and when I hit the age to go away to school there were several rather undignified arguments, which was practically unheard of in my house. My parents discussed- they never argued. The only thing they agreed on was that there would be no Ilvermorny for me. Father wanted to send me to Beauxbatons as was tradition in his family for centuries. Mother refused to let me go so far away, even though that was where the two of them met. Mother is originally from France, and her parents could have sent her to any of the European wizarding schools, but for reasons never shared with me they chose Beauxbatons.

"That's a bit off track though. Mother had waited so long to be able to have a child, she didn't want to send me off for the majority of the year. So I continued with tutors, and with them instructing me. My father's family holds to very old standards and traditions. A child was seen and not heard at meals unless spoken to, and instead only presented at formal events until the age of thirteen. After that they may attend small gatherings to learn how to host a proper dinner or ball but until eighteen, the standard age of adulthood here, you are fairly sheltered. Living where we did, there were fewer people. Besides that my parents were incredibly selective in those they chose to socialize with regularly. Having a large ball to maintain business connections was a twice yearly requirement. Father died suddenly, shortly after my eighteenth birthday, and Mother followed him only months later, so I never had a big "Welcome to Society" ball in my honor and I was fine with that. I decided I couldn't continue to live in that stuffy old house, especially by myself. It was huge and just not right for me, so I left."

"You just left?" Harry said wide eyed. "You didn't sell it or leave anyone to care for it?"

"My parents had a caretaker. He's still there so I can go back at any time. There is no other family. My father was an only child, Mother had two siblings but I barely know them having only met them a few times on trips to France. Both sets of my grandparents have passed on. I had really no attachment to the house or to anyone there. I could have stayed and kept up appearances, but the society life is not for me. I don't have the patience for dealing with those people. That would probably be a huge disappointment to my father but I'm not going to let his expectations rule my life. I want to live my life for me not for him whether or not he would approve. It's frustrating, knowing that if he were still alive I might have done exactly as he expected me to, that I might not have had the strength to stand up for myself, to be my own person."

"So you grew up rich, sheltered, and controlled for lack of a better term, and left to live in a cabin in the woods?" Harry asked skeptically, while thinking how smart it was of Draco to keep at least some of the details of the two lives similar as it made it easier to tell the story. No doubt the part about his parents never arguing was true as well, and he knew Lucius had thought about sending Draco to Durmstrang to which Narcissa had protested. Very clever. He could also hear the frustration and emotion in the other man's voice. He clearly meant what he said about living up to his father's expectations. That was, after all, part of why he had taken the side he had in the war. The war itself likely had a lot to do with why he felt the way he did now. It wasn't something they had ever discussed and he couldn't ask now but he was curious. He began to wonder if he would ever have the chance to ask.

"I wanted to get out and explore," Draco's response drew Harry's mind back to the conversation. "My parents had kept me so sheltered, like I said. I rarely ever left the house. We did occasionally take vacations to places they deemed appropriate, such as the coast of France to meet up with Mother's family for a week or so. I hadn't seen much of the _country,_ much less the world. My first idea was to backpack across Europe as many NoMajs seem to do, but after considering that there might still be aftereffects from the war I thought I'd start with just my own country," he explained.

"So how exactly did you end up here, of all places?" Harry gestured to the window. "It isn't like this is a well known tourist area, or even close to regularly travelled areas. We're essentially in the middle of nowhere here."

"I just started travelling, visiting wizarding and NoMaj towns in the four corners of the country. Most of the time I ended up staying the night in places with few people. Cities make me uncomfortable, especially large cities with so many people. Wizarding areas are worse in some way. It's like to try and keep those places hidden, they were designed to be as small as possible, which leads to people being packed in tighter than in NoMaj places. Maybe that's part of growing up around so few people. I mean even my house was so few people and so large. I appreciate having lots of personal space."

"Which makes it all the more amazing that you've been willing to put up with me being in your small cabin with you," Harry said.

"It is a small space," Draco acknowledged, "but it's not that small. There is plenty of room for two people, anymore would be too many."

"Are you claustrophobic?"

"I don't think so. I don't get anxious or panicky being in large crowds. I'm just not as comfortable as I am in small groups or by myself."

"Sorry," Harry said. "I know that was off track and I interrupted."

Draco shrugged, "You had a question, no big deal. Anyway, the other reason I stayed in the country was I could camp which is much less expensive. I was trying to get by on the small amount of money I had brought with me, occasionally doing odd jobs for people to earn my food or just a few sprinks. My goal was to be self-sufficient, not to rely on my parents' riches. It's just one reason I was so stubborn when Raleigh offered to let me stay in the cabin. Staying with someone else is not self-sufficient, but there's only so much warming spells and magical fires can do to ward off the cold that sinks in here in the woods, even in a magical tent."

Harry nodded thinking back to the year on the run searching for the horcruxes. He knew what it was like to not quite ever feel warm enough.

"And you stayed?" he asked.

"Like I told you before, he took care of me and offered me a place to stay. He even taught me to drive, insisting it was the best way to get around up here. He told me how to get the proper documents so that I could obtain a license. That alone I'm sure would have my Father disowning me. The war didn't come here, obviously, but it was discussed. My parents weren't necessarily supporters of either side openly but they were disdainful of NoMaj things. The idea of their son _driving_ could have led to a great many arguments as Father would have wanted to disown me immediately, while Mother would have been pleading with me to stop and telling him he couldn't. I don't know. I know I felt that way when I left the house.

"While I spent time in NoMaj places it was limited, at least when I first started out. As time passed though, I began to see things they did that we didn't, ways of handling things so easily accomplished by magic. They've been to space. They go to space! Off the planet, there are people living in a, well in basically a tin can in space going around and around us right now. They've died in the effort. That was the first I'd learned of NASA actually. When the Columbia broke up on reentry earlier this year. I happened to be in Eureka getting supplies that day, and it was all anyone was talking about, wizarding and NoMaj alike. That lead me to the library, where I've done research on the computer. -Have you heard of the internet? And I've now read several biographies of the men first involved in the space program. It's left me wondering if there have ever been any wizards or witches who made it into space, though I've found no signs of it so far. And again I've gotten way off topic," he said as he stood to stir a potion, add ingredients to two others, and squelch the fire on yet another.

"Yes you did, but it's an interesting topic so I understand. Then again growing up in a Muggle, um NoMaj home I was exposed to that. For me it was always the opposite, seeing the ways that wizard kind handle things has been and still is sometimes surprising. I think I find more joy in magic than those born and raised with it, as do most of the Muggle born or even most of the halfbloods I know. While it does make life easier in many ways, it seems there are fewer advances than in the non magical world. They seem to always be looking to find new and better, faster, more efficient ways to do things. We don't need to. There are new charms and spells created, but they seem to be much less frequent than the technological advances in the non magical world. And now I'm starting to feel like I'm using the words Muggle and non-magical too much," Harry laughed.

"Well you have said both several times, but it's not like there are a great number of terms to use instead. You're right though, growing up seeing, knowing, and even using magic I never appreciated it truly. After travelling some, beginning to do things without magic I started to see why someone would be so amazed."

Harry bit his lip and looked at the ceiling suddenly, "Do you, wizards in the States that is, not have any type of automobile transport?"

"Not that I know of," Draco replied completely honestly as he had never seen any. "Why, do you have them in the UK?"

Harry wondered if Draco really didn't know about the Knight Bus or if it was part of the act, so he filled him in.

"Hmmm, interesting. I've never heard of anything like that but this is a much bigger land mass to travel so maybe not or maybe they're only in the really large cities and I haven't spent enough time there to know."

Harry nodded, "That makes sense. So why are you still here?"

"I planned to only stay until spring when it warmed up and to get back on the road. Then Raleigh got sick and so I stayed to take care of him rather than move on as I had intended."

"How long was he sick?" Harry asked.

Draco shook his head, "I don't know exactly, I lost track of time. He let me turn this shed into a lab so I could make the potions he would need, instead of having to go and buy them constantly. I think he overheard me mumbling at some point that I could make them and it was a waste of time and money to go buy them. Anyway, transforming this she that took a while, several months at least. I got it cleaned up enough to put in a cauldron to start brewing but even that took nearly a week. He had just so much stuff piled in here. You never would have known all he owned from the cabin itself. He kept it sparsely furnished."

"Much like you have," Harry commented.

"I saw no reason to change what worked. This building on the other hand," he said, looking around as if thinking back, "was stacked nearly floor to ceiling with a myriad of detritus. Some of it was stuff I'd never even seen before. I spent days simply shrinking things to put in a trunk, sometimes after having enlarged it to see what it was because he had already shrunk so many things, so I could take it and sell it or donate it. Or, at least I _wanted_ to donate it, but there seems to be no place to do that. Not sure if there is in larger cities but around here, while there are resale shops, they insist on paying for the items they take. I did send some things that I thought might be questionable straight to a MACUSA office just to be on the safe side. Raleigh insisted he had no use for the money I came back with. He told me to use the money for supplies. I couldn't even get him to look at receipts to show I wasn't cheating him out of anything, he just trusted me. I kept really careful records just in case however.

"I'm no healer and he refused to see one, so I didn't have any way of knowing if he would get better. He was old and I have no idea how old. Raleigh never talked much and to be honest I didn't ask so I never knew his age. Still he seemed healthy enough when I first moved in, it was as time passed and he didn't recover that I realized he probably wasn't going to get better. I respected his wishes and never went for a healer. I just kept working on the lab and telling him about it each day. He seemed to brighten up a bit as I told him what I'd accomplished. It was he that encouraged me to try and sell my own potions. Somehow he managed to get an owl one day and sent a letter to the shop we had been buying potions from to tell them about me. It's thanks to him that I have the business I have at all. He never saw the final product, the finished lab that is. He passed just days after I finished."

Harry just sat quietly for a moment. There didn't seem to be anything he could say. He wondered if Draco's work on the lab and care for the old man was why he had originally stopped writing letters home, but it still didn't answer why the letters that his mother sent to him had been returned. It was so frustrating, knowing that Austin was Draco but not saying anything to him about it. He watched as the blond began to bottle up the cooled potion.

"What did it look like in here when you started?" Harry asked a few minutes later after Draco had finished with the first potion and moved on to the next whose fire he had extinguished just before bottling the first. "Wait you're not going to start a new potion are you?"

Draco shook his head slightly biting his lip to keep from chuckling at the totally predictable question, "No, I'm not starting a new potion. As low as the stock is, I can wait until tomorrow to do more. But I will be back here first thing in the morning so if you want to come with me to supervise my health, as you seem so concerned, you'll have to be up when I'm up because I won't wait for you."

Harry sighed, "I'll be up."

"Ok then, what do you mean what did it look like in here? I told you it was piled full of stuff," _like the Room of Requirement,_ he nearly said aloud but stopped himself just in time.

"What did it look like after you got rid of everything? And don't say empty," he said preempting the blond's snark.

"Well it _was_ empty," Draco looked over the the brunette and grinned. "It was not in great shape. You've seen what it looks like on the outside. The worn out wood, it was the same in here. There were places the floor was totally eaten away. I had to replace the floor and enough of the boards on the walls that I just went ahead and replaced them all."

"What made you put in the windows?"

Draco hesitated before answering. Did Potter know about Sharnell? Of course he did. Had he talked to her? Seen her lab? Probably, which meant the man was still suspicious about who he was. _Damn this blizzard!_ "I wanted to be able to look out. I like to watch the birds and deer as I brew. There are times I have to pay complete attention to my potions, and others where they can be ignored for quite a while, but I don't want to leave the room. The windows let me do that. Besides it makes it feel more open, not so closed in as it did when there were no windows."

"Making you feel more comfortable," Harry said. "So why did you stay after Raleigh died?"

Draco moved to finish the last three potions keeping his back to Harry, "He said he was leaving me the place. I wasn't sure that was legal thought he insisted it was taken care of. Even so I wasn't comfortable just leaving the place to fall into ruin either. I thought about finding another place but I had put in so much work here so I stayed and waited for someone to come and kick me out. I've learned since that he did somehow contact the local magical authorities and this whole place is mine, pretty much anything you can see, and quite a bit you can't. It suits me."

"It certainly seems to," Harry said keeping the surprise from his voice. "Can I help you in any way?"

"No. I've got it. As soon as all of these are bottled and stored I can clean up. You could apparate back and start dinner. I'll be there shortly."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm feeling fine and I promise not to start anything new. You may as well go cook so we can eat sooner." _Besides I need some space from you for just a little while._

Harry stood, dusting off the seat of his pants, and nodded before disapparating.

Draco stood looking in the direction of the cabin for several seconds before shaking his head forcefully and turning back to his work.


	13. handling boredom

Draco once again stood, shoulders relaxed, thumbs hooked in his back pockets, fingers splayed down his hips, looking out the front windows at the snow piling ever higher.

"Bored again?" Harry asked, looking up from rummaging in his knapsack for what felt the like thousandth time, but he didn't have much else to do. He was tempted to pull everything out and reorganize, but did not want to make a mess of the cabin and also wanted to resist any urge to do things Hermione's way, because somehow she would know.

"Yes, and no, I'm not going to go back out to the lab. I can wait until tomorrow to do more. Between yesterday's brewing and what I managed to do this morning, I'm on good pace to be all stocked up and ready to ship out as soon as this damn snow stops."

"I thought you liked the snow."

Draco glared over his shoulder at Harry, who sat with a look of perfect innocence on his face, but said nothing.

"I actually have an idea," Harry said, as his hand closed around something, pulling it out, and setting the knapsack on the floor next to the couch.

"I'm not sure I want to know what your idea is," intoned the blond.

"You know about quidditch?"

Draco tensed but fought to keep it from showing in his shoulders, "I am familiar with the game. Are you proposing to play some version of it here in this tiny room or out in that insanity?" he asked pointing at the window.

"Neither exactly," Harry answered.

"Then just what do you mean exactly?"

"I have a snitch-" Harry began.

"You just happen to have a snitch?" Draco's eyebrows shot up. "For Merlin's sake why? Do you carry it around with you always?"

"I have more than one, the one I carry with me is a more of a practice snitch though. Almost a children's toy. Something that won't be quite as active and wild as a regulation snitch," he explained.

"And you're proposing we set it loose in here and what - try and see who can get it first? That hardly seems fair. You did play in school right? And as you have a snitch I have to guess that you played Seeker."

Guess, yeah sure. Harry thought then said aloud, "Yes I played, and yes I was the Seeker. I enjoyed the game, still do when I get a chance to play with friends. I actually gave brief thought to playing professionally, but only brief. I really wasn't good enough."

Draco dropped his hands to his sides, turned, and studied the brunette's face, damn he really means that. I will never understand his humility. "Did you ever lose a game? Did you ever not catch the snitch?" he asked already knowing the answer.

Harry ducked his head, clenched his jaw and replied as if the man across from him didn't already know the answer, "I was knocked out once. And another time the dementors came on the field while we were playing. Well actually, I thought it was twice but once was just some prat and his goons trying to get to me."

Draco gritted his teeth. He loathed being reminded of his idiocy back at school but there was no way he could say anything in protest so he simply replied, "Then you have an advantage over me. I didn't go to a school so I've never played on a team."

Harry cocked his head to the right, "You never played with a snitch at all? Were your parents that strict? You said you were familiar with the game. How familiar? Have you ever been to a game?"

"I have been to a few games, when I was younger. I know we went to a game one summer when we were visiting Mother's family. I vaguely recall playing a game with the cousins. Mother hated brooms, was never comfortable on them and hated to watch me fly-"

"So naturally you loved flying."

A truly genuine smile spread across the blond's face, "Yes. It made her crazy and as much as I loved her it was so freeing to be up there flying. Father insisted on teaching me everything he knew. He did play quidditch at school, a chaser. He had me try all of the positions. I found I gravitated to Seeker. The hunt for the snitch drew me in. I could keep well enough and chase well enough, though I was never quite large enough to be a good beater. Of course that was all at home with just the two of us playing. The snitch though, it called to me. It was intellectually challenging."

"It's also the one ball you can safely play with on your own," Harry said knowingly, "and somehow it doesn't count as magic use."

"Hmm? Magic use?"

"Maybe the laws here are different," Harry narrowly avoided rolling his eyes at the idea of explaining something to the other man that he knew, "but after you start school back home underage magic use is forbidden unless you are at school."

"But the snitch doesn't count?"

"Well maybe it does, but it's so small no one cares. I don't know. It's a stupid law anyway, or rather a discriminatory law."

"Discriminatory?" Draco's eyebrows knitted and he ran a hand through his hair. "So only those students not in magical households were caught and punished."

"Essentially," Harry replied bitterness creeping into his voice, moving forward in his spot as he spoke until he was perched on the very edge of the couch. "And no one could be arsed to actually investigate and find out what was happening. Like suddenly after a year of training we should be able to control all of our magic, never mind the fact that it's been totally on impulse up to that point. No, let's just assume that students in non-magical families are totally irresponsible and that all magical parents watch their children like hawks, never mind that some of them would never make their children go without using magic, and how would the Ministry know anyway?"

The room was silent for a moment as Harry calmed down and Draco thought about what he had just heard.

"Sorry, I guess I got a bit carried away," Harry said as he sat back on the couch.

"Must have been personal for you," the blond said coming over to sit on the ottoman to face the other man. "It seems that that would put those not living in magical homes at a disadvantage as you wouldn't be able to practice anything over break, where as those that did, could."

"I don't know that it really made a difference," Harry said. "I mean it never seemed to slow down Hermione; she just read the books until she memorized the theories and background knowledge. Then there was Ron, whose family actually did limit their magical use so I'm sure other families did as well."

"Your sensitivity to discrimination seems to be rather high, but I would imagine that would be a natural byproduct of your situation."

Harry laughed ruefully, "That's one way to put it I suppose. In reality it's probably something no one ever really thought about before and in reality it's not all that important in the scheme of things."

"Still you thought about it. Have you mentioned it to anyone else?" Here was where Draco felt frustrated at his fallen family name and prestige. Once upon a time he could have quietly machinated a change from behind the scenes with people in power. Though at that point he wouldn't have cared and would have seen it as treating Muggle borns as they deserved.

"Hermione and I have talked about it but who else would I tell?"

"Really?" Draco shook his head at the sheer naivete of someone not raised in a political household. "You're their hero aren't you? Don't you know people in power that could do anything?"

Harry shrugged, "I know people but I don't want to take advantage of friendships. Besides what right do I have to demand changes."

Oh the moldable clay. Draco thought, "You don't have to make a demand. It can just be a suggestion or even a simple question to the right person that gets someone thinking."

"Like what?"

The blond leaned forward, elbows on thighs, hands clasped between his knees, "Do you know anyone that was actually charged with underage magic?"

"Ha!" came the short barking laugh.

"Am I to take that to mean you yourself were charged?"

As if you didn't know Harry grimaced, "yes, twice officially, though a third time was overlooked."

"Three times?" Damn Potter. What were you doing at home?

"The first time it was a house elf trying to keep me from returning to Hogwarts. Apparently the magic detector, or trace or whatever the bloody hell it is, is so imprecise it can tell magic occured at the residence but not who cast it, so what good is it anyway? The next time was accidental, I blew up a woman that was called my aunt though she wasn't. And by blow up I mean enlarged not exploded. She just made me so mad with comments about my parents. It just happened." he leaned his head on the back of the sofa and looked up while he spoke tiredly. "That time Fudge found it in his good interests to merely overlook it. The third time I was defending myself and my cousin from dementors. Again, apparently they can tell I was doing magic or at least that it was done in my area, and being the only witch or wizard around it had to be me. But they couldn't track that the dementors were there and beginning to kiss my cousin. By then of course I had fallen out of favor with Fudge so he did nothing. It was all up to Dumbledore to save me."

Draco nodded slowly, "Do you know of anyone else who was charged for doing underage magic, or anyone who even received a warning?"

Harry sighed and half laughed, "No, so it's probably not a problem. It's probably just me as it always is. Honestly I don't know. Hermione was always too good to risk anything and it wasn't like we spent a lot of time talking to Muggle borns or half-bloods in other houses."

"Even if it was only you, that doesn't mean it's not still an issue that needs to be addressed. It is discriminatory and that's not fair."

Green eyes peered at the other man as if measuring the words and the intent. Was this all part of the act or was this really how Draco felt? The more they spent time together like this the more frustrated Harry became.

"You're an auror right?"

"Yes."

"Maybe you just need to keep an ear out for conversations in the department or at the ministry about underage magic. You can remind others what happened to you. Maybe just ask casually if anyone knows how many of those cases were students living in magical versus non magical households."

"That's so simple it just might work. Thanks."

"No problem," Draco waved a hand in the air. "All those strategy and political lessons my father insisted on me sitting through should have some value. I don't plan on using them myself. Now what was this about a snitch?"

"That's it? Really? We're just going to drop the subject?"

"Is there really anything else to say?"

"I guess not. Are you really willing to play with the snitch?"

Shoulders went up and down, "I guess that depends on just how much we can control it. There's not much in here but I don't want to ruin the few things I do have."

Harry looked around then gestured to the loft, "We can use a shield charm to block it from going in certain places, like that."

"And then what? We race to see who can get it first?"

"We could. Though in a space this size it might be better to take turns. We could set a time limit to get it or time to see who can get it fastest, or we could just do it for fun with no competition to it."

Hazel eyes twinkled with the Malfoy spirit, "What's the fun is there is no competition?"

"Ok, protect anything you want to first, block off any areas you want to keep the snitch out of like the loft and the fireplace. Then we can each do a practice run."

The other man's head nodded as he pulled out his wand and began waving it in various directions muttering just under his breath.

"Show me the snitch."

Harry opened the hand that had been clenched throughout their entire conversation. The small gold ball unfolded its wings and hovered over his palm, "It is regulation size but like I said it's spelled to be a bit slower and less erratic than regulation."

"Any rules to this little game?"

"Get the snitch," Harry smirked.

"Ha, ha, very amusing," the hazel eyes rolled and the blond head shook.

"Well since we're not both going for it at the same time to see who can get it first, I can't think of anything specific. I mean you can't keep the other person from getting the snitch so that you have a better time but other than that…"

"So we can use spells or charms to help ourselves out."

Harry frowned, "Not sure what spell you might use but I don't see why not. You want to go first?"

"Generous of you to offer but I think you should go first as you've done it before and it will be a good example for me."

This time the green eyes rolled, "It's really not that much different from chasing a snitch outside on a broom other than the obvious, but I can go first. Do you have everything blocked off that you feel needs to be?"

"Yes."

"Here," Harry held out the snitch to the other man. "You take it. Let it go when you're ready, count to ten, and then I'll start."

"Ok then, just a second," Draco moved to climb into the loft, "I think it's best if I'm out of the way. Wouldn't want you to trip over my feet or anything."

"In other words you're resisting the urge to hinder me in some way?"

"Are you accusing me of cheating, Potter?"

"No, certainly not. Merely suggesting that the idea may have crossed your mind at some point. It's fairly natural in a competition for the idea of how to get ahead to cross your mind. Seeing as you're removing yourself from the possibly temptation obviously you are a man of honor," Harry bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at the wide eyed shock on the other man's face at being called a man of honor.

Oh if only you knew who I really am, Draco thought sadly. He turned and sat cross legged on the edge of the loft bunk, holding out the snitch held lightly in his left hand, right hand holding his wand, "Shall I time the first round or do you just want to use it as a warm up?"

"Warm up is good."

"Ok then," he opened his hand and began counting as the snitch flitted across the room, "eight, nine, ten."

Harry hopped to his feet, eyes tracking the small gold flash from the window, past the fireplace, over his head and back to the front of the cabin while also taking in the layout of the furniture. He stood still just watching for thirty seconds before moving suddenly to the right, around the ottoman, bolting to the window, and narrowly missing as it darted off towards the back of the room. He moved more slowly this time, nearly stalking across the room, snagging the snitch from the air above the sink. Draco just sat and watched in admiration.

"So," Harry said, "where shall I sit while you take your turn?"

Draco hopped down and replied, "Go ahead and sit up there."

"Are you sure? That's your space."

"Nah, it's just a bed. I don't usually even use it anymore. I tend to sleep on the couch or on the floor in front of the fireplace, and occasionally even on the floor in the lab."

"Ok," Harry said and climbed up. "You ready?"

"Whenever you are."

Harry mirrored Draco, letting the snitch go and counting to ten. Much as Harry had done, Draco stood in the center of the room watching the snitch move around, tracking it, but he stood just a bit longer as if trying to predict where it would go. He moved slowly, sliding his sock clad feet across the floor, then in one nearly lightning fast grab had the snitch.

"Impressive!"

"Not really, I probably should have had it sooner but I was being careful."

"You got it on your first try, better than I did."

"But I bet the time was slower than yours."

"I don't know, it had to be close and in a real match I think your method might be more effective. Tracking its movements and knowing where it's going to be. Smooth trick."

Cheeks flushed slightly as Draco shrugged, "A real match would be in a much larger location though, so it would be harder to track and predict. Anyway, guess it's your turn again."

They spent the next half hour taking turns chasing the snitch, each trying the other's strategy but falling back into their own. Harry cast a charm to make the gold ball move faster after the first few rounds. Then they started by being blindfolded for the ten second countdown so they couldn't track the ball from the beginning, instead having to locate it. Both men began to jibe each other over time and number of attempts but it all came to a crashing halt, literally when Harry leapt to catch the snitch and fell into the hidden piano causing a tremendous cacophony.

Draco landed on the floor, wand rapidly moving, sending the cover flying off of the piano.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry! I didn't.. if I can help.. if it's broken I'll pay to fix it obviously," Harry couldn't seem to stop the words from pouring out of his mouth.

The blond lifted the lid and ran his fingers along the keys gently just checking their condition, then slowly pressed each one listening to the notes, before finally nodding his head, "It's okay. A little out of tune but that's to be expected considering how long it's been since I played it. It's my fault. I should have remembered and cast a shield on it."

"I'll pay to have it tuned," Harry said quickly.

Draco waved a hand, "That won't be necessary. It really wasn't your fault."

"I should have watched where I was going better instead of only watching this stupid thing," he said forcefully, holding out the snitch. "Guess we're done with it now."

"Well, we have been at it for a while," the blond replied. "We could do it again tomorrow if the snow hasn't let up though. It's been fun. Thanks for the idea."

"But your piano-"

Again the hand waved cutting him off, "Really, it's okay. It wasn't on purpose. You didn't know it was there and essentially it's fine."

I did know it was there! Harry screamed in his head I just can't tell you that. "But you said it was out of tune."

"Nothing I can't handle."

"You can tune it yourself," Harry said flabbergasted at the idea of Malfoy doing such work even after seeing him cook and chop firewood with an ax rather than his wand. "Can it be done magically?"

"It can," the other man said, "though I prefer to do it by hand. When it's just shy of being on tune like this magic works fine, still even this, tuning the piano I mean. It's one of the few things Father always had done by hand. He would call in someone special to do it at least once a year."

"A non-magical person?" His mind really reeled at the thought of Lucius allowing a Muggle into his house for anything other than torture. Of course this could have just been part of Austin's story, but it felt true. The other man's voice rang with reality.

"I don't know. I never thought to ask. It didn't seem important. I suppose they could have been a wizard who is specially trained, that's probably more likely knowing my father."

"So you play." Harry said.

"Now and then. It reminds me of my parents. Really just having a piano reminds me of them, though we would never have had an upright piano. That would not have been acceptable in our house. It simply had to be a grand piano, not even a baby grand would do. Only a concert grand, the biggest, because if it's the biggest it must be the best," he shook his head and chuckled. "There is a difference in sound between upright and grand though, really it's the materials the piano is built from more than the style that makes a difference in sound. Still I like this just as much as the one in my parents' home. I might like it a bit more because it's actually mine."

He sat down on the bench and ran a hand over the lid that he had dropped back down over the keys, "I found it in a resale shop down in Eureka when I went to get supplies one day, maybe two months after Raleigh died. I stopped to look at it and played a few measures but left it there. I didn't have the money for it and I really didn't think there was room here either. When I came back that afternoon I spent some time looking around. It was then that I noticed the small space here by this wall. Over the next several evenings during dinner I sat and stared at this spot trying to imagine what the piano would look like here. Finally I transfigured one of the trunks just to see how it would fit. I went back the next day and was able to put a down-payment on it. They then allowed me make to payments on it for the next few months until I'd paid it off. Honestly, most of the time it just sits here collecting dust which is why it's always covered. I don't play much there's just something about having it here that reminds me a bit of my old life. Some of the good things and some of the not so good things, but it's probably more important to remember the bad."

Both of the men sat quietly for a moment before Harry said, "Teach me."

"How to play?"

"Yes."

"You want to learn?" the hazel eyes went wide. It wasn't something Harry had ever mentioned before. How many hours had they spent together in that parlor? He'd played for the other man three or four times and he'd never expressed any interest in playing himself.

"Why the surprise?"

"I don't know, probably just because most everyone I know that learned to play, including myself, didn't do it by choice. The lessons were forced on us. Even though I did grow to enjoy playing it wasn't that way at first."

"You grew up in such a different house than I did," Harry said addressing both Draco and his character at the same time.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'm guessing you haven't read any of the unauthorized biographies about me. I know at least some of them have made it overseas."

"No offense Potter," he said gently. "I do like biographies but I prefer reading about NoMajs. Probably because I spent so much time being forced to read about witches and wizards when I was younger. A NoMaj book in the house or a book about NoMajs would have lead to some serious trouble."

Harry nodded in acknowledgement, "Teach me how to play, or at least a little bit, a short simple song and I'll tell you all about it."

"Isn't there anyone else that could teach you?"

"Hermione plays but she'd nag me if I didn't practice and tell me it's not worth learning if I don't put the effort into it," he dropped his chin but peeked up through his lashes to the other man looking for a similar response, when none came he continued, "there was one other person…"

"One other person?"

"Yes, but I haven't seen him in over two years. You're more approachable than he was though," he watched his slight jab hit its mark. Draco didn't answer for a moment just thinking that Harry was right. Now that Draco was Austin he was more approachable. He was as himself more approachable. Often he marveled at the thought that he had changed so much, and wondered if he ever went back home if anyone would believe he was genuine or would they simply think it was an act. Sure the answer was the latter, it was just another reason he needed to stay exactly where he was and leave his old life completely behind. It would be all the easier to do when this damn blizzard ended and could get Harry out of here.

In the meantime the other man was waving his hand in his face, "Hello. Where did you go? You kind of disappeared there for a moment." Harry just barely resisted the urge to apologize for the comment.

"Sorry," Draco said, "just got caught up in my thoughts, memories of my lessons," he lied.

"So do we have a deal?" he raised one eyebrow while tilting his head a bit with a slight smile.

He was answered with a laugh and a shake of the head, "You like making deals don't you?" Damn it, you would have been a good Slytherin.

"Hey if it gets me what I want," came the laughing response accompanied with a shrug.

He admired the sneaky tactic, again a very snake characteristic, but the man's lack of ambition to use his status as a hero was certainly more... well, anything but Slytherin.

"Okay. But I've never taught anyone else before so I can't guarantee I'll be any good. You sit here this bench really isn't that big, not big enough for both of us anyway. I'll grab a chair and sit next to you."

Harry did as he was instructed keeping his hands in his lap until the other man was seated beside him.

"I suppose I should start by teaching you the proper way to hold your hands but unless you're going to continue lessons on your own it's not that important. Certainly not on the first day anyway. Notes are probably more important. You said you wanted to learn a simple song. We should start there. Do you know Frere Jacques?"

"Is that Are You Sleeping?"

"Ugh," hazel eyes rolled. "Technically it's the same song but that translation completely changes the meaning of the song, which really doesn't matter so I won't go off on that tangent. You only need one hand for this song, your right. Lift it up and place it on the keys there," he said pointing. "Wait let me show you first."

Draco leaned over to reach the correct keys, causing Harry to lean back slightly. The blonde played the notes and even hummed along leading to wide green eyes. When he was done he sat back up straight.

"Go ahead and try," he said.

Harry lifted one hand and let it hover over the keys before turning and saying, "I couldn't really see what you were doing, sorry."

"That's my fault. I didn't really think this through. I was trying to copy the way I was taught but I was much younger, meaning I was much smaller and the teacher could sit next to me on the bench. Let me think for a moment."

The student considered suggesting enlarging the bench so they could sit side-by-side. It wouldn't need much enlarging, just a fifteen or twenty centimeters. He decided though that might have affected the things inside the bench. He didn't know exactly how that worked. It was a question to ask Hermione after he returned home. In the meantime he laid his hands back in his lap and sat waiting patiently.

"Okay let's try this," stood and moved over behind the other man. Keeping his left hand at his side, he leaned over to place his right hand on the keyboard his left cheek millimeters from Harry's. "Look at where I start. I'll play slowly; watch each key as I play.I'll start with just the first few measures; the first two I think, but I don't know that I've ever seen the actual music."

Harry breathed very slowly and carefully. The nearness of the other man had caused his heart rate to jump just a bit.

When Draco stood again Harry played exactly what he had been shown.

"Good job."

"It wasn't like it was hard."

"Still you played it perfectly on the first try. Now the next step, we add on more notes," he leaned over again this time touching the other man's back and played again slowly. "That's the next two lines of the song, so I'd guess it's the next two measures."

The brunette took his turn. These actions continued until the whole song had been demonstrated. Draco arms crossed watching his pupil play the song through slowly two times a smile growing on his face. "Excellent, now try playing it a bit faster. The song itself isn't quick but it is lively; at least the way I was taught."

Harry gave it a try but struggled to continue to hit the note in the right order, after several attempts he huffed and dropped his hands.

"Don't get so disappointed. Even simple pieces take time and practice. I had an idea. I wasn't going to bother teaching you note names but maybe it will help. You said you know the song-"

"The English words yes."

"Words won't matter right now. The tune and rhythm will. We're going to replace the words with the notes. We'll say it first, then sing it, then I'll play it while we sing it so you can get it all those ways at once."

Before beginning he drew his wand from its pocket, summoned a piece of parchment, an ink pen, and wrote something quickly before placing it on the piano, "Here, here are the note names so you can read them and sing along."

The first attempt led to laughter from both. When they settled, Draco held up a hand with three fingers up to count down and Harry picked up the parchment so that he could see both it and the other man at the same time. It still took a few more tries before they were able sing as one. After they had sung through the song three times in a row Drace gestured to stop.

"Got it?" he asked.

"I think so."

"So now watch while I play and sing along."

"OK."

The blond stepped up close behind his student and leaned over to play singing softly. Harry sat as still as he could singing and breathing shallowly until the other man stepped back.

"Now you try again."

The notes tinkled through the air and faded away.

"You've got it."

"It was a really simple song and you're a good teacher." It's why I can play chess as well as I do now.

"I don't know about that but it was more fun that I thought it would be. Don't go getting any ideas though, this will not become a habit and I'm not going to put out a sign and offer lessons to the locals."

His mild indignation was met with a chuckle, "Aw but you'd be so good at it. Seriously though it was a really simple song, and while it's nice to know I can play it, it was kind of boring."

"Most of the early songs you learn are. Why do you think I said everyone I know didn't enjoy their lessons? We can change it up a bit though. You play the basic notes and I'll play around them."

"What?"

"Just play what I taught you and keep playing it over and over."

Harry placed his hand back on the keys and began to play, his breath catching when Draco leaned in close with both hands on the keyboard on either side of his, chest firmly against his back. They played for several minutes, as they did both men relaxed into the other. As the last notes drifted away and their hands stilled For the second day in a row they found themselves nearly nose to nose. Neither moved for several seconds. Just as the day before the blond moved first, standing up and stepping back as subtly as he could.

"I just remembered the potions I want to work on tomorrow require a few things to be set up to sit overnight so I should go do that."

"I can come help out, and while we work I can tell you that early life story I owe you for this."

"No," the head shook slightly, "you don't have to do that. It won't take long and you can tell me later, maybe over dinner."

With that he apparated away and Harry slumped over head in hands. When his elbows hit the keyboard, the jangle sent him bolting upright. He slowly and carefully closed the lid and turned on the bench to look out the back window in the direction of the lab.

 **A/N oh my, I've been so bad about updating, so sorry to anyone reading. i do have the next chapter ready to go and am trying hard to get the one after done but it's fighting me. We are getting near the end though, pretty due this will only end up as 16 chapters and maybe a tiny epilogue. reviews are always welcomed and appreciated.**


	14. ranting and nightmares

"So what's in your bag?" Draco asked, flopping down on the opposite end of the couch.

"What?" Harry said, looking up from his journal surprised.

"It seems like you're forever digging in that thing," came the response, with a finger pointing at said bag sitting at Harry's feet, "pulling things out, putting things back in. I was just curious what's in there? What exactly does the famous Harry Potter carry with him on an international trip?"

"Don't call me that." Harry ground out between clenched teeth wondering if Draco would ever stop calling him that and then wondering if the blond had even realized what he had said, that he sounded so much like himself and not 'Austin.'

"Your name?" the blond said confused. "Don't call you by your name?"

"That is not what I meant, and I think you already know that," Harry said speaking as much to Austin as to Draco. "'Great Harry Potter' don't call me that I hate it."

"You really do, don't you?"

"Yes, I do. Why wouldn't I? It's not like I went out to do something wonderful on purpose."

"Oh really? You didn't go out to set set out to save Wizardkind on purpose? I kind of thought you did. Are you telling me it was all accidental?" Hazel eyes squinted in disbelief.

Harry rolled his own eyes, "No, I mean I really wasn't given a choice. It was me or, well, I guess there really was no other option. It was me; Voldemort decided it was me, and it had to be done."

"Still, from what I understand you turned yourself over to the man to die voluntarily. I'd say that's deserving of the appellation 'great'."

Harry once again wondered if the man was speaking for himself as Draco or in character as Austin, "Again really didn't have a choice. If I didn't die, neither would he, but fine. Just don't call me that."

Draco held up hands up in front of him appeasingly and nodded, "Okay," he said, "but I'm still curious what's in that backpack of yours."

"Mostly clothes and things," Harry replied. "I don't know; I kind of lost track."

"So empty it out and let's see."

"Are you sure you really want me to do that?"

"Why not? It's just a bag."

"With an undetectable extension charm on it," Harry said. "Hermione's gotten rather good at those."

"Hmm," Draco mused, "Don't think I've ever seen something like that; you would think growing up in a huge house filled with magical objects that I would have, or maybe I just never realized what it was when I came across one. Are you just worried that you'll make a mess?"

"Well that is it in part. I've honestly lost track of what is in here. I think Hermione packed some things before she ever gave it to me. I keep coming across things I don't remember packing. This is such a small space, I'm worried my stuff could be too much."

"It's just a room. You're going to put everything back when you're done anyway right? Come on let's see what's in there. It's not like we have anything else to do right now," Draco said. "If you're really worried you can always shrink things as you pull them out so they don't take up as much space."

"But what about your potions? I thought you had a few out there brewing?"

"I do," the blond nodded. "Both of them need to sit for quite a while cooling before I have to start the next step, and I have a time charm set to let me know when I need to go back."

"Okay then," Harry said and began to pull out his clothes, creating two stacks, one of his clothes and one of 'James.' As he reached the end of the clothes and began removing his toiletries a thought occurred to him. "Wait, you traveled all over the country and just had a regular bag without an undetectable extension charm. How did you manage to carry everything you needed?"

Draco shrugged "I didn't take that much. I had a few sets of clothes, a couple other things. Most of it I just shrank to make it fit. I was careful to only enlarge it again when there were wizards around or when I was alone."

Harry nodded, "Well, this could take awhile but whatever. I've actually want been wanting to reorganize for a while. If you're sure you're okay with it, this is just the beginning," he said gesturing to the stacks of clothes.

"Yeah. Why not? Should be interesting."

"You're not going to like, write a tell all are you?" Harry asked only half joking.

"Are you kidding?" the other man laughed uproariously. "Yeah I'm sure that would sell: the contents of Harry Potter's backpack. I mean really?"

"You have no idea," Harry nearly groaned. "I've had people going through my garbage to see what I throw out, and I thought I had enough wards around my house to prevent that kind of thing from happening. I caught someone just the week before I came here."

"Your garbage? Really? And years after the war is over? I just don't understand that," Draco said shaking his head.

"Neither do I. People are crazy."

"I guess they are. I promise, no tell all, not even a hint. Want me to make an unbreakable vow on that?"

"Really, you're going to joke about that?" Harry was incredulous. This had to be part of the act, he couldn't imagine Draco ever joking about something so serious.

This led to another shrug and the response, "That wasn't entirely a joke. I really would if you wanted to just so you can trust me. It's not like you really know me that well."

Harry smiled softly, I already trust you more than you would ever know, even with all things considered, he thought to himself but merely said, "All right."

"If you need any help shrinking things, let me know. I'll start dinner now. I have the supplies to make a homemade chili, I've been holding on for the right time. Once it's all put together it can simmer for a few hours."

"That sounds really good," Harry said as he resumed taking items from his knapsack and laying them out on the floor, sofa, and ottoman. "Where did you learn to cook? Did you learn at home?"

"Oh no, we had servants to cook and clean. Really it was all practice, trial and error. I bought a cookbook when I first started travelling and have since checked out several from the library. Most of what I eat is canned goods, which you already know, but I find I do enjoy cooking when I have the time. It's a lot like potion making."

A laugh came from the couch, "I've been cooking since I could reach the stove and I was pants at potions for years."

"Pants?" Draco as Austin said, pretending not to know what the other man meant, while thinking that pants was an understatement.

"Ah sorry. I forget sometimes that our slang is really different. I was really bad at it. I could get by, but I don't know. Maybe it was because it was all so new, the ingredients and everything. It could have been the pressure I felt from the professor who seemed to absolutely loathe me from the moment I walked in the door. It's not like he started the very first class by asking me every question he could as if we should all have had the textbook completely memorized before we ever walked through his classroom door, like that's realistic for eleven year olds at all, well anyone other than Hermione or Malfoy. He proceeded to sneer at me and accuse me of not helping a classmate to make myself look better, which some people seemed to find absolutely hysterical. And he knew, HE KNEW!!!" At his Harry threw the book he was holding to the floor, stood and began stalking around the room.

Draco turned from the stove and cast a quick surreptitious shield charm over a few things, shrunk all Harry's belongings spread out in the room and sent them flying onto the couch itself. He then stood with his wand held loosely in his hand in case he needed to subdue the scowling man.

"Then again," Harry continued now in a full rant. "It could be that I was never a great student anyway as I wasn't allowed to study at home much less taught how to do so. If I didn't get my work done at school it didn't get done. When my primary school teachers dared call my aunt or uncle about my scores I was banished back to my cupboard for days or weeks, basically any time I wasn't at school or cooking or cleaning. For that matter there were times they didn't even let me out to go to school or to cook or clean. I'm not sure how they got away with that. I think they must have known exactly how long I could be out of school and not raise suspicion. Vernon knew a lot of people. I wouldn't be surprised if he knew someone in the government or in the right office to keep anything from coming up. I'm sure he would have gone on about how 'off' my parents were and that I was the same way, making things up. That or someone didn't see anything wrong with my doing chores, never mind the fact that my cousin did none.

"I was fed, if you can call it that, and clothed in hand me downs that yes someone would have probably appreciated except they were always worn out to begin with and absolutely huge on me. I did have a roof over my head and my own room, yeah a cupboard under the stairs is a room, sure, it's barely a closet. Dudley's second room was always set up as a bedroom because that's where Vernon's sister Marge stayed when she came so maybe they claimed that was mine but I liked to hide under the stairs rather than use it. Maybe that's why I didn't do so well in potions or some of my other classes but it's not like Snape or any of the rest of them ever bothered to ask. Why would they do that?"

Draco had slid across the room, picking up the book from the floor that he had somehow missed when moving everything else out of the way, and was now sitting on the sofa holding it and watching the other man fume.

"It's not like any of them kept track of me while I was stuck there in that hellhole for ten years. Oh wait - Dumbledore did know and did nothing, because Petunia was my mom's sister and that was supposed to keep me safe, safe from anyone but them but I guess that didn't matter. As long as I was alive long enough to die. But he couldn't be bothered to tell me that of course, or anyone other than Snape, so it's a damn good thing I was around when Snape died to get his memories and find out. Or I might never have known the final secret to beating Voldemort. He didn't tell me much of anything. Hell, I'm lucky to have lived to the final battle considering he let me go off and try to take on the the professor stealing the Philosopher's stone. He didn't do anything to keep me from seeking the Chamber and the Heir. He encouraged me to go with Hermione to save Buckbeak and Sirius. He did nothing to get me out of the Tri-wizard tournament. He handed me off to Snape for occlumency lessons, which was a disaster as it only made me weaker and led to Sirius's death. He kept everyone at least partially in the dark.

"No one ever knew everything he was thinking. He was the reason I spent nearly a year hunting any possible place Hermione or I could think of to find the damned horcruxes so we'd stand a chance of beating the psychotic SOB only to find out that he made me a horcrux and if I didn't die then he would-" Harry's eyes went wide and he stopped dead in the middle of the room. "I shouldn't have said that. Oh I shouldn't have said that. No one is supposed to know that. No one is supposed to know that there was more than one. The Ministry and Wizengamot don't want anyone to know that someone can make more than one and still survive. They're afraid that it will give other dark wizards ideas."

"Understandably so," Draco said as he rose from the couch. He moved behind Harry and pushing gently on the other man's shoulders led him to the couch, turned him around, and again gently pushed him so that he sat. He moved to the small cold box hidden behind a curtain under the sink and took out a bottle. Popping the top, he took it back and handed it to the brunette. "I won't say a word and I really will take an Unbreakable Vow on that one if you feel it's necessary or think your Ministry will want me to."

Harry took a sip, "I don't think that will be necessary, but I suppose I can ask when I get the chance. I can always come back to visit if it's needed."

"Well now that you know how to find me, I guess you could." I'm not sure I can take it if you do. Please let the Ministry for once be reasonable.

After another drink, "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. I don't know what just happened. That was… that was...I don't know."

The blond shrugged, "You clearly needed to get that off your chest. It's obviously been bothering you for a while, years would be my guess. It's a wonder you never blew before now."

"But why now?" Harry said leaning forward, elbows on his thighs, bottle in his right hand between his knees, chin resting in his left palm. "It just makes no sense. I've been much more stressed out than I am here."

"It just took the right trigger I guess," Draco said as he returned to the stove to stir the chili. "Of course this also means you have honored your part of the deal."

"Deal?"

"When you asked me to teach you some piano yesterday," he prompted.

"Piano… oh yeah I promised to tell you about my childhood and why it was different than yours. I guess I've done that, haven't I. Not exactly the way I planned to do it. I think I probably made it sound worse than it actually was."

Draco grabbed a beer for himself, opened it, and took a drink before responding, "No I'm pretty sure you're underplaying it now, and that even with all you said, you still haven't told me just how awful it really was. It sounds like this Dumbledore- your headmaster right? - was not a good person. Probably not something you can make well known over there as I'd bet he's held in nearly as high a regard as you are."

"Not as much as you might think after the tell all book written about him. When people found out about his relationship with Grindewald they became rather distrusting. Honestly, dying did as much to tarnish his image as it did to making him a martyr. The wizarding world at large either doesn't know or doesn't believe what I saw in Snape's memories so… I don't know."

"So you were serious when you said you didn't have a choice in the war."

"Not if I wanted everyone I know and love to survive, no. I mean I suppose I could have just run for it but as long as I was on the run he could be gaining more power and no one would be able to take him out."

"And Dumbledore never told you? Never told anyone?"

"Only Snape, and that was only at the very last possibly second. I don't know exactly when, but it had to have been incredibly close to the end of his life."

Draco shook his head, and I thought I was being used by the Dark Lord, "I don't even know what to say. I mean I understand him not saying anything when you first started school, but why didn't he tell you once Voldemort was back? Why didn't he tell you before he died rather than Snape? It just makes no sense. He sounds to be nearly as skilled at manipulation and secret strategy as Voldemort was."

"He was sickeningly so. Still we did win the war in the end so-"

"I'm really not sure that excuses his behavior. He truly left you in that home for years never checking in with you?"

Harry shrugged, "I don't honestly know if he ever checked in with my aunt and uncle. I do know there was an old woman who lived nearby, a squib, that he tasked with keeping an eye on me, so she may have been making reports to him."

"A squib?"

He nodded.

"Um and what exactly did he think a squib was going to be able to do to help you if anything happened? What if some of the followers had found you as a child? And how much could she really know about how you were being treated? How could he possibly think that was an acceptable situation for a child to grow up in?" I've known house elves treated better than you were, not by Lucius obviously but by others.

"He did what he thought was best," Harry said weakly.

"No! Oh no! You are not going to defend him now. What he did was reprehensible. It might have been okay if he had checked in with your aunt and uncle to be sure you were treated properly, and done something about it if you weren't, but allowing you to be abused in any form just to save everyone else? What if they had decided not to keep you, or if you had gotten ill from lack of food and overwork? What if the accidental magic we all experience when we're young had done something awful or someone realized it was you? You could have been locked up in some juvenile center for those that are mentally disturbed. Don't defend him and don't even think about apologizing for being angry with him or with Snape or with anyone. You have a right to your feelings. Believe me I know. My father never showed emotion, except on rare occasions to my mother and very rarely with me. He was always so controlled. When he was angry it was a very contained anger. I wasn't allowed to be any different. I had to always be in control and was often told the way I felt about things was wrong or unacceptable. It took me way too long to fight back and be my own person and not who I was raised to be. You have to fight it too. You were raised, nearly trained to be the hero, the savior, the sacrificial lamb. You don't have to be that person anymore. You're allowed to be you and to experience feelings as you want."

"But if it had been any different-"

Draco held up a hand, "The outcome might have been different, might have been horrendous. Yes, I understand that, but it's still ok for you to be angry about it and to show that. You're not perfect, no one is, and you shouldn't pretend to be if you don't want to. I have a feeling I've seen you more yourself in these past two weeks than many people have, anyone other than your closest friends and have you even told them how angry you are about everything that happened to you?"

Harry shrugged, "I don't know that I've ever said it quite so plainly as I did to you but they do know, or at least Ron and Hermione know."

"Have you ever said out loud that you're angry and who all you're angry with?"

The raven head shook.

"Maybe you should do it now. It might help if you got it all out."

"I don't know."

"You don't have to. It's just a thought. You could always wait and do it when you get back home, talk to one of your friends, tell them, or just write it down. Make a list on a piece of parchment and tear it up or burn it slowly or something. You might feel better. I'll let you think about it and get back to working on the chili. We can eat early if you'd like."

Harry nodded and leaned back on the couch, closing his eyes and resting for a bit, occasionally raising the bottle to his lips for a drink. Finally he sat up again, placed his bottle on the floor next to his feet, and began repacking his knapsack. When everything was neatly put away he stood up, drink in hand, and walked over to stand next to Draco.

"Thank you."

"No need. Want to try this for me and see what you think? Is it ok or does it need something? I'm thinking a touch of cilantro and maybe a dash of salt."

Harry took the proffered spoon, blew on it for a moment, then tasted, rolling the chili around in his mouth, testing the flavors on his tongue. Finally he chewed and swallowed. "It's wonderful. I don't think it needs a thing."

"Well if you're sure, then I guess it can sit and simmer for a bit longer and we can-" he was interrupted by a chime from his wand. "No I guess we can't. I need to go work with those two potions. I'll be back soon, unless you want to come with me."

The other man thought for only a moment before shaking his head, "No, I think I'll stay here maybe do that writing you suggested."

"All right," the blond said then apparated away.

Draco woke to Harry tossing, turning, and whimpering on the couch. He sat up and watched the other man in the low light of the fireplace. When he began yelling and thrashing violently, the blond climbed down from the loft and approached him slowly. As he reached the sofa the other man settled and fell quiet again, so he turned and began to move back to his loft. Again Harry began to whimper and moan, and the blond moved closer to him. Halfway across the room he stopped and summoned the other man's wand with his own just to be safe. Once again Harry settled and even began to smile in his sleep. The he suddenly awoke and bolted upright into a sitting position. Slowly he looked around taking in his surroundings and then just as suddenly collapsed forward into a hunched mass sobbing silently, his shoulders shaking.

Draco stood watching for a moment unsure of what exactly to do. He took one slow step towards the sofa and the crying man then turned as if to go to the sink and get him a drink of water, then turned back again. He took another step towards the couch and stopped. He never had been any good when Pansy cried, or any of other girls he knew. He certainly didn't know what to do with a man who cried. Men in his world simply didn't do that. It would have been disgraceful and yet he didn't think that of Harry. He wanted to make the other man stop but not because it was wrong or uncomfortable, simply because he wanted to make it better. He went with the urge and rushed over sitting behind the sobbing man, at first simply placing a hand on his back and then wrapping his arms around him, squeezing lightly.

Harry tried to pull away but Draco only squeezed a bit harder. A moment later the brunette spun so that he was instead crying on the shoulder of the other man and gripping him equally as tight. Draco patted his back but didn't speak. He had no idea what to say. Slowly the sobs subsided. Harry finally relaxed so the blond pulled back just a bit so that he could lift the other man's chin with his hand. He gently wiped the tears from his face but still said nothing.

Harry took a shaky breath, "I'm sorry. I don't know what to say. That hasn't happened in a while."

"It's happened before," Draco asked in a near whisper.

Harry nodded, "I get nightmares of time from before knowing I was a wizard to an of the horrible things that happened through school. The worst ones are always from the final battle seeing everyone, the faces of everyone who died one after the other. Even worse is when that is followed by a dream where they're all alive, alive and happy together at a big party at the Burrow, Ron's house, well his parents' house. And then I wake up look around and realize it was all a dream, that the nightmare is the truth and it's all my fault, my fault they died."

"Your fault?" Draco said in disbelief. "Your fault? It's not your fault! None of it is your fault! It's Dumbledore's fault for never telling you anything, telling you what you would have to do for not giving you a choice. It's Snape's fault for not telling you when he knew; I don't care if he was with Voldemort he should have found a way. It's all of the adults around you who didn't help you prepare better, who were not smart enough to realize what would happen. It's Fudge's fault for refusing to believe and prepare for over a year. It's Dumbledore's fault for leaving you where you were, instead of taking you when you were a baby and training you in magic from very young. It's his fault for not trying to find a way to eliminate the horcrux without killing you! It's Voldemort's fault for killing your parents, for setting you up as the savior or the goat. It's Snape's fault for ever telling Voldemort about the prophecy to begin with. It's Pettigrew's fault for craving power instead of taking care of his friends. It's his fault for not showing loyalty. It's someone who was in charge's fault for not finding Voldemort when he was a boy in that damned orphanage, and sending him back to it every summer like they sent you from Hogwarts. Somebody taking him in raising him in a magical home, someone actually giving a damn about him and he might not have become what he did--" In the middle of his rant Draco slipped, saying things Austin could never have known, but in their emotional states neither man realized that he had just outed himself.

"It is so many people's fault but it's not yours. The people that died fighting, those who fought on your side, they chose to fight. On the other side, oh I'm sure most of them chose, but there were still others who had no choice, or didn't think they did, and made the wrong choice. I'm not saying your friends to chose die. I'm saying they knew the risks and they accepted them, and it wasn't for you. It may have been in support of you, but it was for the good of all wizardkind, for their family members, friends, and even future children. You have to stop putting this all on yourself. It is NOT your fault."

Harry sat taking it all in before replying, "I know. Realistically, I know that it's not my fault. I know everything you said is true but it's still there, the question, wondering if I could just... I don't even know… if could have just done something differently could I have saved everyone? The answer is I simply don't know, so it comes back to me time and time again. I don't know."

"And so you don't let it go and I'd wager you keep it to yourself."

Harry nodded slightly in response.

"You haven't told anyone about this." It was a statement not a question. Bloody brave Gryffindors! "You haven't told anyone how you're feeling or what you're going through, not even your closest friends. That's not good. That's not healthy. You have to let it out. You have to let it go. You're punishing yourself when no one else is."

"I know... I know! But it's not easy."

"Very little in life is ever actually easy. I can't imagine anything in war or recovering from it is easy."

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"You keep taking care of me when you don't need to so thank you."

"You really don't have to thank me. Do you want me to to get you a calming draught or a dreamless sleep? I can pop right out to lab and come right back."

"No, I'm alright. I usually sleep pretty well after one of these episodes."

"All right then, we should probably get back to sleep," with that Draco stood and began to walk to the ladder.

"Um, actually…" Harry trailed off with a small shake of his head. "Nevermind, no."

'What? Is there something else I can do for you?" Draco asked quietly.

Harry started to speak and then paused before continuing, "This will probably sound strange but would you stay down here with me? We could sleep by the fire on the floor or maybe enlarge this," he said pointing to the sofa.

The blond stood and thought for a moment, nodding quickly and waving his wand, extending the cushions on sofa to over twice their original depth. He then summoned his blankets and pillow from the loft and moved back to the couch to lie down.

Both men laid on their backs with nearly a foot of space between them, Harry drifted off first and rolled to his right side facing the other man. Draco fought with himself before turning onto his left side and finally giving in to sleep again himself.


	15. The next day

**A/N omg I'm so sorry. I didn't realize I'd never posted this chapter. ugh. also yed this is in present tense, bad form, as a teacher I know better, but it just refused to be written in past tense.**

Draco wakes and opens his eyes only to squint at the brightness. Confused, his brow furrows. This is not where he is used to waking up, at least not since Potter showed up in his front yard. What was he doing here on the sofa instead of being in the loft?

The rustle from behind brings it back. Harry had that nightmare. He must have been really tired to agree to stay here on the couch with the other man. This was simply too close and yet he can't bring himself to move. Finally the sun becomes too much, so he rolls over slowly and carefully to find himself facing Harry. Harry Potter, the bane of his existence in so many ways for so many years and all he wants to do is touch the man. He came to the States for many reasons and one of them was to get away from the man lying in front of him. He lies still for several moments just watching the other man sleep, wishing that they could wake up together every morning all the while knowing that's simply impossible.

Unable to resist any longer he reaches out and brushes hair out of Harry's face. Green eyes open and peer at him. They lie staring into each other's eyes for several moments before Draco gives in to the urge he's been fighting for weeks, years really.

He again brushes one hand over the other man's cheek then leans in and kisses him. Harry immediately leans into the kiss reaching around and threading his fingers through the blond hair, pulling closer. The kiss deepens, mouths open, tongues begin to explore. Hands begin to roam lightly over backs. Draco presses in closer, knowing that the scars on his chest are a dead giveaway to his identity. The reminder that he is lying to the man he is currently passionately embracing makes his stomach twist but he doesn't stop, instead moving to kiss and nip gently at the other man's neck. The sound of the brunette's moan finally makes the blond pull away and hold away with a bit of pressure.

"What?" Harry asks. "What's wrong?"

"This isn't… I don't…" he searches frantically for something to say, some reason for pulling back. Grasping at straws he throws out the one question he should be worried about but that hadn't entered his mind until just this moment, "You're not involved with someone are you?"

"No. Not in a long time. Not since before the war, well before it became a full out war and not just a cold war filled with sneaky attacks and then it was a woman."

Ginny Weasley, Draco can see her clearly in his mind. She is much more suited to Harry than he is. This isn't right. They need to stop and yet he doesn't pull completely out of the other man's arms. It just feels too good. It feels right to be here even as he knows it's wrong.

"What happened with her? If you don't mind telling me." He asks in as level a voice as he can manage.

Harry shakes his head, "I'm not really sure. She was my first real relationship and maybe that's all she was supposed to be. After the war I just didn't feel the same way about her and I don't know why. She's still one of my best friends but no longer anything more. Honestly it's hard to even think about having a relationship. Whomever I date would have to be willing to either be very private and never go out or else be willing to be a spectacle because the press never seems to tire of following me. I'd love to have privacy again and I keep hoping that one day it will happen but we're not there yet. I don't want to put anyone else through that, it seems cruel to ask anyone else to live that life."

"Understandable," the blond nods and thinks again that this really can't go anywhere. The wizarding world in the UK would crucify him if they even knew of his interest in their hero, much less if they actually had a relationship. This is all he will ever have, all he will ever allow himself to have and so he leans in to another kiss.

Harry responds in kind and again hands travel up and down backs while mouths roam over mouths and necks and legs entwine. It's like the dreams he's been having have finally come true; he has Draco in his arms… except… it's not Draco. This is "Austin" and this isn't real. It's not right.

This time Harry pulls back and Draco asks, "What's wrong?"

And this time Harry stumbles over his words, "I don't… I said… well what I mean is…" he takes a deep breath before continuing, "I said there isn't anyone else and there's not. I'm not in a relationship but there is someone I have feelings for."

"Oh," Draco says quietly, heart sinking. Taking his own deep breath he says, "Do they know?"

"No."

"Why not? Not that it's any of my business."

Harry laughs ruefully, "Lying here like this you say it's not your business."

Draco chuckles roughly, "Good point, so why not?"

Harry shrugs, "I can't tell him."

"Can't? Or won't?"

"Didn't when I had the chance, couldn't bring myself to do it, and now I can't. Besides it would be difficult."

"Difficult why?"

"For a lot of reasons, but besides what I said earlier, I'm not out."

"So you are gay?"

Again Harry laughs and again says, "You can ask that while we're lying here like this."

No laugh from Draco this time, "I just didn't know if this was an exception for you, or if you're bi, or pan."

"I'm sorry but it just feels odd to lie here like this having this conversation. Could we sit up please?" Harry asks ducking his head.

Draco doesn't reply, just begins separating himself from the other man. After they had both adjust their clothing and clean up their covers he shrinks the sofa back to it's normal size and they sit.

"You really don't have to tell me," he reassures the brunette.

"I honestly haven't talked about it with anyone. No… wait… I guess I did. Hermione and I had a conversation about it. A couple of years ago, so I guess that why I'd forgotten. It wasn't a long or detailed conversation but we did talk, and Ginny knows. It's odd because before the war I was only attracted to females or at least that I noticed. Mione would say I was in denial, because she says I always watched boys in school. I don't know, she may be right but it never registered with me, not until after the war."

"Why not?"

Harry leans back against the arm of the sofa criss-crossing his legs in front of him, "I don't know for sure, but I do have a theory and I haven't even talked it out with Hermione so I could completely wrong. I really could have just been in denial or oblivious."

Draco clenches his jaw to keep from laughing, breathing slowly through his nose to get control before responding, because if there was one thing he wouldn't argue it was that Harry could be oblivious even when he was very nearly stalking someone.

"I'm listening if you want to talk about it, see what I think."

Harry chews on his bottom lip for a moment, "There aren't many other people I can talk to about this. Honestly I shouldn't even talk about it with you as some of what it involves is classified information-"

"Then don't," Draco interjects holding up a hand, "don't get yourself in trouble, or me for that matter. I'd really appreciate it, thanks."

"Oh no, you wouldn't get in trouble. No one would even have to know I said anything to you and well I already kind of did so…"

The blond sighs quietly and fights the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration. Harry has always been one to either blurt out exactly what he's saying or take forever stumbling over words to say what needs to be said; there seems to be no in between with the man.

"Do you want to think about it for a while first before you say anything?" Draco asks. "I can make breakfast and we can talk after or I can make breakfast and you can talk while I do."

"No, I… well I guess you could make breakfast. We do need to eat."

Draco chuckles and rises going to the small kitchen area, "Go ahead whenever you're ready."

"Ok, well it's a bit strange and probably really far fetched but it's a theory, so I guess it doesn't have to be… mean it doesn't have to make perfect sense and it's not a theory I can test or one that I can even research because it's never happened before that anyone knows-"

"Um Harry," Draco interrupts, "you're babbling. Maybe you should stop for a minute and think first."

"I don't know if that will help."

No it probably wouldn't. Why do I find his infuriating inability to speak so attractive? "Well then just do your best."

"I said yesterday that Voldemort made me into a horcrux accidentally when he tried to kill me."

"Yes," Draco nods as he turns back to the stove to make a pot of oatmeal.

"What, if anything, do you know about horcruxes?"

Draco thinks for a moment before responding; how much would Austin know? "Not much. My father was fascinated with the Dark Arts, though he didn't practice them as they were so dangerous and he didn't want to risk his place in society. America on the whole I believe has a smaller contingent of Dark Arts lovers or practitioners thand the UK seems to have. Of course it could just be that they're a better kept secret. Anyway, my father mentioned them to me in my lessons at some point. They harbor a piece of a person's soul, correct?"

"Yes."

"He said you have to do something terrible to create one, but he didn't even know what that was."

"Terrible," Harry laughs bitterly, "I guess you could call it that, though I'd say calling murder simply terrible is a bit of an understatement, especially as it seems you have to do it on purpose, well most of the time, I was a freak accident but that seems just about right for me. My life has been one freak accident or occurrence after another."

"Hmm," Draco nods while biting his lip and nodding.

"Anyway when we, Ron and Hermione and I, were on the hunt for all of Voldemort's horcruxes in the several months before the final battle we had one that we couldn't destroy. We had found a locket that he'd made into a horcrux. We didn't want to just leave it laying around, afraid of what would happen to it so we took turns wearing it. It did something to us. I can't explain it well. Every negative emotion was amplified. We fought more, said things we never would have if we weren't wearing it. It ended with Ron leaving us. It was just…" he trails off.

Draco looks over his shoulder at the other man, but can't think of anything to say so he doesn't, simply returns to the pot, stirs again, and waits.

"You're probably wondering what that all has to do with my sexuality."

"Uh, yeah, you could say that," the blond replies as he scoops oatmeal into bowls and grabs spoons. He walks over to sit on the couch and hands off one of the bowls.

"Thanks. I said it was strange. It was just the thought that a horcrux could have an effect on you in some way that got me thinking. Part of Voldemort's soul lived in me, or was stored in me, or something. I wondered what effect that might have had on me, on my personality."

Draco's eyes widen, "You think you're gay - or bi and prefer men - but that he preferred women and that's why you noticed them."

"Crazy, I know, and it makes no sense considering nothing is recorded at all that ever shows he had any interest in anyone. He might have been asexual, or maybe his lust for power was greater than any other, or maybe as he split his soul creating horcruxes he could no longer feel attraction of any sort. He did make six after all, well six on purpose, then he made me one accidentally."

Draco chokes on the bite of oatmeal he had just taken. He knew of course that there had been horcruxes even knew there was more than one but seven, "Seven?!?" he gasps when he can breathe again. "He made seven horcruxes? His soul was split into eight pieces?"

Harry nods as he takes a bit from his own bowl, "This is good, thanks. Yes. It was supposed to only be seven-"

"Because seven is such a powerful magical number."

"Yeah."

"I don't know whether to admire the twisted brilliance of thinking of seven, or just be absolutely mortified that he was willing to kill six people to achieve near immortality in a state no one has ever lived in or could even understand."

"I think you could do both. I mean even I have to admit that as insane as the man was, he was powerful and he was incredibly intelligent; he just put both to the worst possible use he could and saw nothing wrong with that. He was truly horrifying."

"The sheer number of people who followed him and didn't recognize how absolutely insane he was is even more frightening," I didn't realize until too late, neither did Lucius. I think Mother did, then again her own sister was nearly as insane.

"It's pretty far fetched," Harry says between bites. "It may just be that I was seeing women more because I was raised in an intolerant home, not only for the magic that they tried to stamp out of me but for anything outside of the 'ordinary' or 'acceptable'. I certainly heard Petunia and Vernon comment on homeosexuals more than once."

Draco nods, "It's quite possible that you simply internalized what they said and acted it out until you had time to really stop and think about what you wanted."

"After the war when everything calmed down," Harry says. "That makes more sense."

"Though I'm not sure you can rule out that being a horcrux had something to do with it. Did you notice any other personality changes after the piece of him that was in you was gone?"

Harry twists his lips thinking, "Nothing off the top of my head, I'd have to ask Hermione and see if she noticed anything. She's much more observant than either Ron or me. Luna would be the other one I could ask. Odd as she can be she's also incredibly insightful and observant, not to mention really nice."

Draco doesn't respond but thinks of Luna, the bright spot in the cellar, a bright spot in his days when he took food to her and Ollivander. She saw something in him, he didn't understand it at the time, didn't understand it until he found himself here in the cabin with Raleigh. She would like who he had become and somehow that made him happy. Before it could show in his face in a ridiculous grin he stood with his bowl and moved to the sink looking out the window.

"It's stopped snowing. I should get out and plow some roads."

Harry's eyes went wide, "You plow? With a Muggle, I mean a No Maj snow plow?"

"Yes, we drive up here in the mountains so we need to plow. I found an old rusty plow in the shed when I was turning it into my potions lab. I cleaned it up. Raleigh told me how to attach it to my truck and I started out slowly. Now when it snows I clear my drive and a few neighbors, as well as our road up to the bigger county road."

Harry shakes his head in amazement. Draco drives and plows. He removes snow without using magic. He really is a different person here. "If you have a shovel I can work on the porches and clearing a path back to your lab and the loo."

"I'll leave it on the back porch. I'd better get started, as deep as the snow is it will take me awhile to get done."

Harry nods, "Ok. I'll shovel and then I can get something going on the stove for lunch."

"Better count on it being for dinner. I doubt I'll make it back before then."

"All right then."

Harry stands at the front window and watches as Draco attaches the plow, then gets in his truck and begins to clear the drive. When he's out of sight the raven haired man bundles up and grabs the shovel, clearing first the front porch and stairs, then around his jeep and cleaning it off. He takes a break to eat a small peanut butter sandwich then works in back as he said he would.

All finished he comes inside and stands looking out the window for Draco's return, then turns and stares at the uncovered piano and the bench hiding the letters. It sparks an idea in him so he sits down, takes out a piece of parchment, and begins to write, pouring out everything he thinks and feels for Draco. When he's done it holds up the parchment and looks at it wondering if he'll have the courage to leave it here when he goes. Should I hand it to him when I go, or before then? Maybe leave it hidden or partially hidden? Send it by owl after I leave? Should I give it to the him at all? There is something between us, obviously, but will Draco admit it? It took me this long to admit my own feelings for him, the depth of my own feelings for him, my once upon a time nemesis. Is that too odd? Is it even possible for two people who had hated one another for so long, like we did, to have a relationship? How would it work? He lives here and I live in the UK. I don't want to leave my friends, even with the ease of magical travel, but I can't ask him to move back. He left for a reason. He's proven himself here though so it should be easier to come home.

At this he shook his head, knowing that it wouldn't matter what Draco accomplished here in the States or what his references were, many people back home wouldn't believe them or accept him. He couldn't ask the man to hide but he also couldn't ask him to live in the spotlight that was his own life. The mere thought of the inevitable headlines in the Prophet and Witches Weekly was enough to terrify him.

Letter finished, he puts it in his knapsack and moves to sit at the piano. Carefully and slowly he plays the notes the other man had taught him. He practices several times between fielding the owls now coming with orders, and making a pot of chili and a cake of cornbread which he leaves on the stove to keep warm.

It is at the piano that Draco finds him when he returns just as the sun sets. "You've been practicing," he says. "Sounds good. Maybe you should find someone to teach you more when you go back home."

Harry shrugs, "I don't know. I might. We'll see. You ready for dinner?"

"You didn't wait for me did you? You didn't have to."

"It seemed the thing to do," Harry replies as he fills two bowls and sets them on the table with small plates of cornbread.

Draco grabs beers from the small cold box, opens them, and passes one to the other man, "Thanks, this is good after a long day."

They don't speak as they eat, in what starts as companionable silence but begins to feel awkward the longer they sit. Harry cleans while Draco sorts through the orders that had come in that day. When he finishes the brunette turns to him and says, "Play something for me."

"What?"

"Play something for me. I'm not going to ask you to teach me any more but I'd love to hear you play."

"Why?"

"I used to know someone who played. He wouldn't play for me frequently but when he did… I don't know. I can't explain it but I enjoyed it, and it didn't matter what he played. I miss it. I miss him." Yes, I mean you. Why can't I just tell you I know? Why am I hinting around?

Draco stares in space for a moment thinking. I may never get a chance to play for him again and if he truly misses hearing me play this is my chance. "All right." He moves to sit on the piano bench, placing his hands on the keys and begins to play.

Harry settles into the couch and watches the other man. Again he can see Draco in 'Austin'. If he hadn't known before now, this would have been a giveaway. The way he plays hasn't changed at all. Sitting with his right side to the back of the couch, right arm up on the back, head leaning against his hand he just watches and listens.

Draco's eyes drift closed as he plays. He rocks a bit side to side. It is a soft piece, slow and gentle and yet there is more, an energy to it, running almost behind or below the notes. As he comes to the end he holds the last note then drops his hands into his lap.

"That was wonderful," Harry says in quiet awe. "Who is the composer?"

"I am," the blond says without turning to face the other man. "I wrote it a few years ago for someone I knew for a short time, but someone who I grew to care for a great deal."

"He must have been special," Harry swallows the jealousy that fights to come out in his voice.

"More than he knew. He was surprisingly humble considering. It's not late," he suddenly changes the subject, "but I need to get up and into the lab fairly early tomorrow to catch up on orders. I'm going to bed."

"Ok."

Without ever turning to look at the Harry, Draco climbs up to the loft and lies down to sleep.

Harry shakes his head at the quick change in the other man and prepares himself for bed, though he lies awake for hours before finally succumbing to a thankfully nightmare free sleep.

"Since you cleared the driveway and at least one road," Harry said with false cheer, standing at the window looking out in the morning. The last thing he wanted to do was leave, not until he got Draco to admit who he was but he just didn't see that happening any time soon. The blond still had the Malfoy stubborness in spades. "I should get packed and get going so I have plenty of daylight to drive back to one of the bigger cities, and catch a portkey back to the East Coast so I can get a plane home. If I take any longer Ron will leave Hermione alone to come and get me. She's just too close to the baby coming for that and I really should be home for Christmas. I'll certainly never hear the end of it if I miss it."

Draco sits in shock for just a moment before swallowing deeply and replying, "Do you need any help?"

"No, but thanks. I've got it and you've done enough." Harry says not meeting the other man's gaze.

"Ok then."

The blond sits at the table pretending to work on his potions ledger, all the while watching the other man pack his knapsack and take things out to the jeep through the hair falling in front of his face. Part of him wants to protest but he knows he shouldn't, and so he continues to pretend to work. At the sound of the engine starting he stands and moves to the door, leaning against the frame, arms crossed over his chest.

Harry stops at the bottom of the porch steps looking up, "Thank you for everything."

Draco waves his hand, "It's really nothing, and you returned the favor so no thanks necessary. Have a safe trip."

The brunette nods, "I will." He turns and walks to the vehicle as the blond turns to go back into the cabin.

"Wait!" Harry calls out. "Just wait a second." He reaches into the car, pulls out something, and runs up the steps, stopping right in front of the other man. Grabbing his hand Harry presses the small stack of letters into it. "Narcissa is sick, very sick. We don't know what's wrong; no one knows, but she's fading away. I swear to you this is not a trap in any way. Read these if you don't believe me, but you have to know. This is why I'm here. If you can't come back, you have to at least contact her. She's at Andromeda's. You can always send the letter to me and I can take it to her, but you really should come back," he pauses, "and not just for her."

He leans in and kisses the other man trying to put all his feelings into that one last kiss. "You, Draco, it's you. It's been you for years now. It's crazy, I know, but it's true. Come back, not just for your mother. Come home to me Draco. I love you."

Draco stands in shock watching Harry walk down the steps, get into the jeep, and drive away.


	16. Draco, after

The blonde stood in the cold on the porch long after the jeep was out of sight. He was frozen in place, and not from the temperature he couldn't feel that at all. He was numb. Finally he raised one hand to his lips in wonder that Harry had known who he was. Had kissed him knowing who he was. Loved him he said, loved HIM. At that Draco shook his head forcefully and ran a hand over and through his hair. He turned and went back into his cabin, closed the door behind him, noting the cold finally he pulled out his wand and, with a quick wave at the fireplace, sent the flames higher.

He made it no further than the center of the room before stopping and looking around. It was already quieter in here, not that Harry was loud or spent much time talking to him, he had actively discouraged that for most of the time the brunette had been with him after all, but he was fidgety which always lead to noise of some sort and now… there was none. The room that had been so cozy for over a year now was suddenly empty. Loneliness washed over him. Again he shook his head fiercely.

He straightened up, tightened his shoulders, and walked with determination to the back door, pausing only a second to drop the stack of letters still in his hand to the table. He then moved out to his lab, where he stayed burying himself in his work until long after dark.

Sitting and eating cold stew straight from the can he stared at the stack of letters. Before eating, he had piled them up neatly in the center of the table with Harry's letter on top. He knew it was Harry's, something about the handwriting, yet he didn't think he had ever paid that much attention to how the other man wrote. They had never sat next to each other or even close enough for him to ever see the other boy's paper, so how he knew it was Harry's handwriting… he just did.

After eating he purposely went to sit on the couch to read, but paused when he realized he was about to sit not in his favorite spot, the one Harry had taken over while he was there, but in the spot he had taken up since then. He shifted to sit in his favorite spot but couldn't get comfortable so moved back to the other end. The lack of the familiar frame in his peripheral had him sighing and gritting his teeth.

Suddenly he stood and stalked over to the fireplace where something with a gold glint shone at him from the mantel.

The practice snitch. He reached to pick it up but couldn't bring himself to touch it. Instead his hand hovered over it for a moment before dropping back to his side. He turned and looked at the table again, at the oh so neat stack of parchment. He stalked over, swiping them up, and spun to throw them on the fire; he stopped at the last second. He wouldn't, couldn't burn them, especially if they were from his mother. Instead he walked slowly over to the piano, lifted the seat of the bench, and placed them gently inside next to the other bundle. Before closing the bench, he summoned the snitch and laid it down on top of the new letters.

Giving up on doing anything else, he climbed into the loft and laid down facing away from the room, tried to shut off his mind and go to sleep.

A tawny owl flew into the lab and perched on the counter, waiting for the potioneer to notice it and take the letter from its leg. The blond did so and before he could offer the owl a treat it was gone again. Such an unusual action had the man tense. Any owl that came with an order or payment waited for something to be sent back. Shoulders tight he looked down, seeing the handwriting on the outside of the parchment had him biting his lip before tucking it in a pocket unread and turning back to work.

Days passed, and as each one ended without a visit from American or British aurors the tension drained out of his body. His first instinct had been to run, but he refused to give up the home he had created here and the business he had worked so hard to build. Still, each night as he laid in bed the thought of his mother nagged at him. He was sure it was a trick to get him home. Of course Harry would say it wasn't but it had to be all of it was just a trick. There was no way that the savior of the wizarding world loved him, would ever love him. They hated each other in school, barely tolerated each other that year of house arrest, this was all a play and he refused to give in to it. He did however stop dying his hair, it was beginning to lighten back to the Malfoy standard. He hadn't worn his contacts since Harry had left and he had no plans on wearing them again anytime soon. If he needed to go to town he could always do a quick glamour charm or just not worry about it. When they did come to find him they'd find him as himself not as his cover.

The same long eared owl fluttered in every few days with yet another letter that Draco merely pocketed as the bird flew away never waiting for a response. Before eating dinner each night, the letter delivered that day was dropped into the piano bench alongside the others without so much as a glance.

A month went by, and the letters kept coming every third or fourth day, yet were never read. Then one day there was a knock at the lab door as Draco was deep in the middle of a difficult potion, with three simple ones in various stages of brewing around him. He looked up only a moment before going back to his work without responding. The knock came again harder and louder this time. Again the blond ignored it.

"I know you're in there Austin, or should I say Draco?"

He went stock still, gripping his wand in hand gone white.

"It's Mel from Merl's Mount."

His shoulders relaxed just a touch.

"I'm not going away until you talk to me and you should know if I don't come home by the end of the day there will be people coming to look for me. They knew where I was going and they know how to find me."

His shoulders tensed again, his jaw clenched, and he raised his wand.

"I get the feeling you don't want a host of people on your property so-" the door opened before she could go any further. She hesitated only a moment, patting her own wand in it's pocket on her leg before stepping inside.

The blond didn't do anything to acknowledge her presence, in fact he pointedly ignored her and just kept working. She moved across the room and swept her wand over a stool near the wall, changing it into a more comfortable chair with a back and arms so that she could get back out of it easier, took a seat, crossed her legs at her ankles, and watched him. The silence was palpable as each waited for the other to speak first.

Finally Draco caved, "Should you be in here?" he asked as he added chopped snake root to the bubbling cauldron furthest from her.

Mel bit back a laugh and even managed not to roll her eyes as she replied, "I recognize all of the potions you're currently brewing, none are a danger to me. Besides," she cocked her head and looked at him intently, "you knew before I came in the door that I'm pregnant and you would have said something if it were going to be a problem. Even not being a woman yourself, part of your training would have included knowing what potions are a danger to the unborn should you ever have a wife, family member, friend or assistant around that you would need to consider when brewing."

"What makes you think I wouldn't just let you in, no matter what? What makes you think I would say something?"

"You are a man of integrity," she replied simply.

His eyes went wide as his forehead scrunched up, then he closed them and shook his head, "Integrity?"

"Yes," she nodded.

"You have the wrong man," he sighed and turned away continuing, "Harry is the one with integrity."

"And yet you let him leave," she observed quietly.

"What does him having integrity have to do with letting him leave?"

She shrugged, then realizing he wasn't looking at her replied aloud instead, "Don't know."

Again the blond head shook, "Then why would you say it."

"Because you cared enough about him to come get me when he was ill. You let him stay here rather than send him back with me to my clinic. You took care of him when you didn't have to, when everyone you know would expect you to do the exact opposite. Because you let him leave, and haven't communicated with him or anyone in the UK since. Because I'd lay odds you haven't read a single letter he's sent to you, though he refuses to give up on you, they keep arriving every few days for me to send on to you and I wonder..." she trailed off.

His shoulders tightened as he stirred the nearest potion diligently fighting the urge to ask, clenching his jaw to keep the words from coming, and losing, "What?"

"Why haven't you?"

He thought about playing dumb and asking her what she was talking about; but he was tired and really wasn't in the mood to be belligerent, these days it took an effort to drum up the old Malfoy attitude. He also knew she'd call him on it, and it just wasn't worth the wasted breath.

"He was here to find me. He found me. There was no reason for him to stay. Whatever he has to say is to convince me to come home. I don't need to read it. I'll respond to my mother eventually, but for now I know she's being taken care of, so I'm not worried. If she was really doing that poorly he would have dragged me back with him, brought pictures as proof something."

She raised an eyebrow, cocked her head to the left, and ran her tongue over her teeth but did not respond.

He attempted to wait her out again but Mel was as stubborn as anyone he had ever known. Rather than address her unspoken insinuation, he shifted back to her other comment, "What did you mean I'm a man of integrity?"

Mel chuckled softly, "Because you are."

The blonde looked up from the potion he was preparing to bottle and just stared at her.

"You really don't think you have any do you?" she asked.

"You called me by my real name when you were trying to get me to open the door, do I really need to remind you what I did?"

"So you started on the wrong side of the war," she said acknowledging his reasoning, "but you finished on the right side."

He huffed as he went back to work, "That was purely selfish I assure you. Neither I nor my parents would have survived the Dark Lord being in power."

"Yes, because considering your parents is so selfish."

"It wasn't exactly selfless. Not like Potter or Granger. Granger especially, with memory charming her own parents and sending them away," he argued.

"Interesting that you don't see that as a selfish move. She was also just protecting her parents like you were."

"It's not the same thing," he huffed as if there was no way she could possibly understand.

She considered him for a moment, "You simply refuse to believe there is anything good about you or your choices don't you?"

His only response was a snort.

"You underestimate yourself," she observed quietly.

"You don't know me well enough to say that," he snapped.

Silence descended on the room again.

Draco moved as casually as he could to the opposite side of his cauldrons so he wouldn't have to look at Mel, thinking that might be the solution for his urge to speak to her, to argue with her about who he truly was.

Several minutes passed and the silence grew more uncomfortable and deafening with each one until he could take it no longer.

"Why are you here?" he demanded whipping around to glare at her.

She bit back a sigh and instead answered carefully in a measured voice, "I had a very interesting phone call earlier this week."

"Potter," he said flatly.

"No," she shook her head lightly.

His brows knitted as he tried to figure out just who else might have, or who knew how to use a telephone that would care enough to call.

She took pity on him, "She was rather frazzled but that seems to be the norm when you have a newborn-"

"Granger?" His jaw dropped.

"It's Granger-Weasley, I believe."

He waved a hand in the air, "Whatever. Why in Merlin's name would she call other than to tell me to stay here or go to hell."

"If you just read this," she held out a piece of parchment, "you'll get your answer."

"You can't just tell me?" he asked, turning back to stir a cauldron.

"I suppose I could," she shrugged, still holding out the paper, "but she called to ask me to personally deliver this when it arrived and to be sure that you read it."

"I'm not reading anything she sent," he said flatly. "Don't need to. I already know what she thinks of me and there's nothing she can say to me I haven't already heard from someone else or thought of myself."

"You're so sure of that?" Mel cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow, the letter now resting in her lap.

"Yes!"

The witch pulled out her wand, whispered something, and tapped the parchment which promptly folded itself into a bird and flew over to Draco.

He swiped a hand at it, but it simply dodged and continued to fly in a circle about his head occasionally dive bombing him.

"Make it stop," he said, voice tense.

"Sorry," she said lightly, "can't, not my charm."

"But your the one who-"

"Hermione told me what to say. It's her charm and it won't stop until you take the letter gently and open it. I'm just here to make sure you do."

He took his own wand and cast a quick burning spell at the parchment, only to have it bounce back at him, only missing because Mel cast a quick shield charm for him.

She laughed when he turned to look at her, "You really think she didn't expect you'd try that?"

He groaned and shook his head, "One can always hope that having a baby keeping her awake day and night has her distracted enough not to completely think things through."

"Chances are it has her thinking things through even more completely than before."

Again he shook his head, "You really don't have to stay here."

She held up three fingers, pointing to each one as she spoke, "One I promised, two I want to see your reaction for myself, three if I leave you'll find some way to avoid it."

"You can't stay forever," he protested.

"Well everyone knows where I am so they can come to me if they need and in the meantime, I have at least a week until my due date," she said as she rubbed her hands over her large baby bump, "unless of course you don't want to deliver a baby. I can walk you through it. I've done it dozens of times."

He blanched, frozen, eyes wide, then slowly and carefully reached out towards the paper bird pulling it gently from the air.

"I thought that might convince you," she smiled smugly. "Now why don't we go into your cabin so you can sit and read comfortably."

Draco pursed his lips and nodded, then turned and waved his wand over each cauldron in turn before going to the door and opening it, gesturing for her to step ahead of him, and then taking one last glance at his lab before stepping outside.

Mel paused at the back door, waiting until Draco opened it allowing her inside. She sat in the arm chair in front of the fire while he sat in a chair at the table and placed the letter down in front of him.

"It won't bite you, I promise," she said softly.

He nodded, took a deep breath, picked it up, and began to read:

Draco,

Never in a million years did I think I'd be writing a letter to you for any reason other than to rail at you, and yet here I am. Though don't expect this letter not to include some yelling. If I was sure a Howler would make it across the ocean and across a continent without exploding that would be what you would have in hand right now. As I'm unsure of the exact rules behind their charm, this will have to do until I can do more research.

What is wrong with you?

Why in Merlin's name are you still in the US? Why have you not come home? You were a horrible human being in school but you always loved your mother. What on Earth has happened that you would first ignore her, and then ignore reports of her ill health? I never thought that even you would be so self-centered.

You don't believe Narcissa is ill, do you? You still think this is some scheme cooked up to get you back here so the Ministry can lock you up? How stupid can you be? You are the dumbest smart person I've ever met. No one cares! It's over and done with. You served your time, as far as the Ministry is concerned, you are a free citizen or they would never have let you go the States to begin with. No, they really didn't let you go just to get rid of you.

Ok so there are people who care, but no one is trying to trap you and throw you into Azkaban. You don't even have to stay here. Come visit your mother. Come see Harry and then go back into hiding, though I've never taken you for a coward.

Seriously Draco, Harry is a mess since he came back. Before he left I knew he had feelings for you and he refuses to tell me what happened while he was there with you alone in the woods, but I know something must have. He wouldn't be this way if it hadn't. He is listless and sullen. He sits and stares at the walls for hours, at one wall in particular. The only time he shows any emotion lately is when he is writing a letter to you and sends it off but as the days pass with no response he drifts back into apathy. We've tried to get him to come to our house, or to Molly and Arthur's house, but he won't do it. He sits at home and broods.

For once in your life, think of someone other than yourself.

Maybe that's not fair. You have thought of your mother before, so for once in your life think of someone beyond you or your family. While you're at it, do think of your mother. She knows you're alive and well now, but how do you think she feels knowing that, but knowing you don't care enough to contact her? She deserves to hear you tell her why she's no longer important to you, why you no longer give a damn what she has to say. Harry deserves to know how you feel about him and in a face to face discussion. Don't lie and say you have no feelings for him or that you hate him. If you did you would have at least returned the letters unread. Again, I say something had to have happened between you. I love Harry with all my heart but he's not the most observant of people, even being an auror. He does jump to ridiculous conclusions sometimes and is occasionally even right when he does, but there is usually a reason for that inferential leap. Somehow you made him feel that you cared for him. If it was a lie, be an adult and tell him that. If it's the truth be an adult and tell him that. Whatever it is, stop hiding.

Teddy is old enough to ask about you. Your mother has told him about you and about you and Harry both playing Quidditch. He wants to meet you. He wants to spend time with the cousin who thought enough to send him gifts for the holidays. He wants you to teach him to ride a broom as much as he wants Harry to do it.

Stop being a coward, come home to the people who care about you and at least tell them why you're being so selfish then whatever; go away and be alone for the rest of your life.

Do you really want the next letter delivered by Mel to be notice of your mother dying with you never speaking to her again? I don't mean to be cruel, not really, but at this point I think it's what's needed. Do you want your mother to die thinking her only son, that she tried so hard to protect, that she risked her own life lying to the Dark Lord to save, do you really want her to die alone believing that son no longer loves her?

Come home! Stop being a self-centered arsehole and come home! Don't do this to the people who care about you.

I'm done now. I'm sure I can talk to you until I'm blue in the face, or write until the quill breaks from me squeezing it in frustration as I write, and it won't change your mind. Do just one thing. Read the letters. Read Harry's letters and your mother's letters. If you can read them all and still feel that you don't need to come home then you're a fool, but at least we'll know we did all we could and you have just changed that much and we'll give up, though it will break Narcissa's heart and I have a distinct feeling it will break Harry's too.

Whatever you're going to do, do it and let someone know!

Hermione

He closed his eyes and sighed, biting his lip in frustration. His mind was at war with itself. One side arguing it was yet another ploy and the other arguing that it didn't matter if it was, shouldn't he go find out for himself? What if it was true? What if his mother was deadly ill?

He looked at Mel, "Fine, I'll read the rest."

The tired acquiesence had her nodding her head. "I'll go then and let you do it. If you need to use the phone or anything else, you know where to find me."

He gave no response except the barely perceptible shake of his head. He sat stone still in his chair until he heard her truck drive away, then stood and walked over to the piano. His hand hovered over the bench for a moment before he lifted it, removed the stack of letters, and moved back to his seat at the table. Leafing through the stack he found the one Harry had shoved in his hand as he left and started with it.

Draco,

I'm not sure how to start this. I guess I'll start in the obvious place.

Yes, I know it's you.

No, I didn't say anything.

Why? I was waiting for you to tell me yourself. I had hoped that you would trust me enough to reveal yourself to me. It seems I was mistaken or maybe you're just that afraid of being asked to return to the UK, or rather being forced to return.

The past few weeks have been… I really don't have the words. I've never been the best student, and certainly not the best public speaker, but then you already know that. You've harassed me about it more than once.

It was in the last two months or so of your house arrest that I realized I was falling for you. Hermione is sure it was earlier than that so maybe I was just in denial. From early on in that year I counted you among my friends. I still do.

I never expected to feel the way I do about you. Saying goodbye to you when you left to come here was harder than I would have thought possible, sincerely we really were only friends, or at least in my mind we were. How you felt I never knew, you keep everything pretty close to the chest, always have I suppose.

The time we spent playing chess, talking, or you playing the piano for me is precious. You showed a side of yourself to me that I'm sure very few other people ever see and I can't even begin to tell you how much that means to me.

Over the past several weeks I got to know you in a different sense. You tried to avoid talking to me. I wondered why; if you were just uncomfortable with strangers, but I know now you were afraid of giving yourself away. Still, little by little you came out of your shell, especially in the lab. When you are in the lab you are much more relaxed. Working so hard must distract your from your constant vigilance. You may not talk anymore but you relax nonetheless and when you do talk it's more genuine.

I feel like I should apologize for this morning. I kissed you knowing you were you, knowing I was kissing Draco but you thought I knew you as Austin. When I pulled back and said it was because I have feelings for another man it was you I was talking about, you Draco not you Austin. I felt guilty kissing you knowing that I knew who you were but you didn't know.

Before you came here I wanted to tell you but I was afraid and unsure. Afraid of rejection, afraid you'd laugh at me, afraid of making a fool of myself and unsure that I really felt the way I thought I did.

Now I know, I love you. It's as simple, as complicated, and as utterly mad as that. And it is utterly mad, I know that. No one would believe it. You probably don't, but it's true. I know- I know others would think you Imperio'd me or used a potion of some variety. You're obviously a good enough potions master to do that, but you're also an honest enough potions master to never try.

Don't even bother to deny that you have feelings for me. You used your mask as Austin to reveal yourself. I know you care about me. I know you'e interested in me. There's no need to even try to lie or make up some story about it just being part of your cover, I won't believe it. You are a private person; you would never expose yourself emotionally to someone you hate or are even indifferent to.

I don't think either of us ever truly hated the other. Intense dislike maybe, but there was always a fascination. Even if you want to use the word hate, people always say love and hate are two sides of the same coin.

We obviously have a history that might, no would, make a relationship hard but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try. Who else can understand where we've been and what we've been through better than we can? Who else do you have so much in common with? Who else will challenge you to be more than you think you can be because they can see your insecurities. The past is there and would need to be addressed at some point. We both said and did things we regret at this point, but it's not a reason not to try.

Don't let fear keep you away. Don't let what others think of you rule your life. My friends and family will come around in time because you are so important to me, if not then I'll deal with that on my own. Your mother already loves me, and don't use that as an excuse either. You will not be disappointing her if you are in a relationship with a man, come home and talk to her and she'll tell you that herself.

There are a million things I can say but they all come down to three words, and they're the only words that matter if you'll just take them to heart, believe them, believe me when I say I love you.

Come home Draco. Come home to your mother and come home to me. Give us a chance.

Yours,

Harry

Draco sighed, sat back and ran his hands through his hair. He did care for Harry. Love wasn't a word he was willing to use; he wasn't willing to even admit to himself that he did love the other man. He reread the letter then picked up the next, and then the next, reading each of Harry's letters twice before moving on to his mother's letters and reading each of them twice.

As he laid the last letter back on the table he stretched and looked around, realizing he had never eaten dinner and that it was pitch black outside. He stood and looked to the stove but decided his stomach was too upset to eat, instead he walked to the couch where he sprawled out and tried to sleep.

Sunlight streamed through the window, waking him up from the little bit of sleep he had finally managed to get. He rubbed his eyes and stretched then lay staring at the ceiling for several minutes.

He sat up, glanced at the letters spread out over the table, set his jaw, stood, and strode out to the pump to wash quickly in the cold water. His next stop was the lab where he vanished the potions that had sat untouched all night and wrote a short note that he duplicated and sent off to all of his clients in a similar form to the charm Hermione had used to turn her letter to him into a bird. Then he walked determinedly to the cabin, grabbed a bag, filled it with clothes and papers, and nearly ran to his truck stopping only a moment to look around the land and gaze at his cabin before driving away.

A/N Sorry this took so long to update. I've had this chapter done but wasn't comfortable posting til I finished the whole story and also wanted my super awesome beta to look it over and she's been crazy busy. As soon as she has a chance to read the next chapter and the epilogue they will be posted, then it's on to November, NaNoWriMo and a new Drarry story.


	17. going home

Draco stood in front of the house, staring at the door. He knew from speaking with his mother during their year of house arrest that his two aunts looked quite a bit alike; she was the odd one out in the family, and he wasn't sure he was ready to see anyone who looked like Bellatrix. It had been years and still the terror she infused in him lived on. Finally he took a deep breath and raised his hand to knock. Before his hand made contact with the door, it opened.

"Well," Andromeda said, not altogether welcoming. "Took you long enough, but I suppose since you're here you should come in." She stepped back to let him pass her into the main room.

Draco walked into the room, stopping near a sofa and hesitated, unsure of what to do or say but he had no chance to do anything before a small boy came running into the room.

"You're back, you're back, you're baaaaaaaack!" called Teddy as he wrapped his arms around Draco's legs.

Unable to help himself, smiling at the boy's enthusiasm, Draco reached down and ruffled the hair on the boy's head, hair that was rapidly changing from brown, a rather nondescript brown at that, to Malfoy blond.

Teddy pulled back and looked up smiling, "I knew you'd come back. Aunt Cissy and I kept telling Mamaw and Harry you'd be back. They didn't believe us, well Harry used to but then-"

"Teddy," Andromeda said gently smiling at her rambunctious grandson, "maybe you should introduce yourself to your cousin before you go jumping all over him."

"Oh yeah, um," he straightened up as tall as he could, cleared his throat like he'd heard adults do, and solemnly said. "Hello Cousin Draco. I'm Edward Remus Lupin but you can call me Teddy, everyone else does." He grinned and bounced on his toes as he finished.

Draco grinned but bit back a chuckle; had he ever been this innocent and open? "Nice to meet you, Teddy."

"Thank you for the presents you sent," Teddy said. "I especially liked the Muggle bubble wand. I used up all the bubbles and Auntie Hermione bought me more but I'm out again. Harry said he'd get me some more but he's been really busy and sad lately. I have a small broomstick in the shed out back. Want to come watch me fly?"

Draco twisted his lips. He hated to disappoint the boy but he really wanted to see his mother.

Andromeda spoke up before he could formulate an answer, "I think your aunt would be disappointed if she didn't get to see her son before he plays with you."

The boy thought for a moment then nodded, "Ok, but will you come outside after you talk to Aunt Cissy please. Harry is the only other one that will watch me fly, it makes Mamaw and Auntie Hermione nervous."

"Will do," the blonde said, thinking it might make him nervous too, but he remembered the joy of riding his first toy broomstick so he'd do it anyway. He mouthed "thank you" to his aunt, then looked questioningly to the back of the house.

"I can show you where she is," Teddy volunteered taking his cousin by the hand.

"Thank you Teddy," Draco said following along behind, apprehension stirring up in his stomach with each step down a hallway that seemed longer than any hall at the Manor ever had, even when Voldemort had been in residence.

The young boy stopped in front of a closed door at the end of that hall on the right and knocked firmly three times.

"Yes?" came a voice from the room.

"Aunt Cissy, you have a visitor," Teddy said, very formally. "May we come in?"

Draco would have been amazed at the manners of the boy had he not been so tied up in his own anxiety. Disappointing his mother was always his greatest fear, even more than disappointing Lucius and he had certainly disappointed her and worse, saddened her, with his selfish actions. It was time to face the consequences. He took a deep breath and attempted to calm himself as his cousin opened the door after the assent came from inside.

"Draco darling," Narcissa beamed and rose from the large armchair in the corner where she had been reading. She laid the book aside on a small round table and came to him with her arms open.

Teddy stepped back and said, "I'm going outside. I'll be there when you're done talking to your Mum, Draco."

The blond turned and watched his young cousin walking away, shook his head, and turned back to his mother, "He's remarkably perceptive for one so young."

"Yes," Narcissa nodded. "Everyone does everything they can to make his life as normal as a child's should be but he knows how his parents died, to some extent anyway, none of the details, though he will learn them someday. It's caused him to grow up a bit before he should need to, but he also just seems to be a thinker. From what I understand he takes after his father in that. At least according to 'Dromeda her daughter was anything but a thinker, more of a doer. She was an auror though, so she must have been a thinker; at least sometimes," she waved her hand in the air. "Anyway. It's wonderful to finally see you home, dear. You look so well, if not a bit rugged from your time in the wilds of the States. I like your hair lengthhair that length but darling, the beard?"

He chuckled and stepped into his mother's embrace where he could feel that she was thinner than she had been when he left yet…

"You seem to be doing well," he said as he stepped back to look at her. Her hair was a bit limp but was clean with the top half tied back in a knot the rest trailing down her back. Her skin was a touch paler than usual, but her cheeks seemed to glow and not simply from the small amount of rouge she wore. She was wearing not a dressing gown as he would have expected, but a fairly simple and stylish sleeveless black dress that ended at her knees.

A twinkle came to her eye, "You think you're here under false pretenses? Come sit with me," she gestured to the armchair and it's partner in the corner. "It's nearly tea time, we can talk while we eat and drink."

"I don't know that I'd say false pretenses-" he began.

"Oh you wouldn't say it, but you're certainly thinking it," she raised an artfully shaped eyebrow high as she peered at him imperiously from her seat.

His shoulders tensed a bit as he sat, "Well I was led to believe that you were on death's door," he said calmly, though he couldn't eliminate all trace of defense from his voice.

"I have been quite ill. I have no idea what it was nor do the healers, and none of us have any idea why I'm recovering. Make no mistake son, I spent my entire morning in bed, and will be back there not long after supper. I am able to be up and a bit active for merely a few short hours each day. Even then the activity is reading, talking to my sister, or teaching Teddy to play chess. I am in no condition to run a house or do the charity work that I used to do, at least not yet. Some days I spend the morning out of bed, and some evenings, then still others like today it's the afternoon."

"So why the afternoon today? You seem rather put together to just be spending time reading in your room."

"As I said it's tea time shortly," she responded.

"And you're expecting company," he surmised.

Her only response was a nod.

"Then I should go and come back later."

"No," came a voice from the door that sent the butterflies back to flight in his stomach. "I should come back later."

"Nonsense, Harry dear," Narcissa said standing again. "We can bring in another chair, and the three of us will have tea together as we have so many times before."

Draco peered at the other man from the corner of his eye and sat incredibly still, fighting the urge to turn and face him completely, to drink in the sight of him.

"No," Harry said again, this time raising a hand, "you two should spend time alone together, it's been too long. I'll be back another time."

The raven haired man didn't wait for either of the room's occupants to say anything before sweeping away.

"Harry," the blond whispered, heart squeezing. He stood and turned to the door before he even realized he'd done so. Anguished he turned back, "Mother-"

She raised a hand and caressed his cheek, then hugged him, "Go. There will be time for us to talk later. Go after him."

"But I don't know-" he protested, whether to say he didn't know how he felt or to say he didn't know where to go, even though he wasn't sure, but it didn't matter.

"Go. Talk to him. Tell him how you feel. Tell him you love him," she insisted.

"Mother?" shock rang in his voice.

"You think I didn't know? That you were gay, or that you were in love with Harry? That you didn't even really understand that yourself until just this moment?" she laughed gently, "Darling, I am your mother and I am hardly unobservant, especially when it comes to you. If Harry makes you happy then go after him. Have no worries about what I might say or think. I love you both. As for the rest of wizarding society, well I'll be polite and simply say if they don't approve, forget about them, you can guarantee that Harry will. Now go, number twelve Grimmauld Place, Aunt Walburga's house."

He stood only a second before rushing to the door, then turning and coming back sweeping her into another hug, "Thank you. I'm so sorry for being gone so long. I promise to explain why as soon as I can and I don't say it enough but I love you Mamon."

Her cheeks flushed at the French, what for them was as much an endearment as Mum was for many British children.

He stopped again in the doorway, "Teddy. I told him I'd watch him fly."

She waved her hand, "You go. Teddy can have tea with me in place of you and Harry and I'll explain to him why you left."

"Mother," he groaned.

She chuckled, "He already knows how Mr. Potter feels about you. Harry is much less capable of playing his cards close to his chest, he rather wears his feelings on his sleeve for all to see. Now go."

He hesitated only a moment longer before rushing through the house, out the front door, and stopping only long enough to center himself before apparating away.

Draco landed and turned in a slow circle, looking for a familiar home. It's been so long since he been to Aunt Walburga's and he had been only a child then. He was shocked he hadn't splinched himself as he couldn't clearly picture where he was going, perhaps that part wasn't quite as desperately important as it had been made out to be. Giving up on looking for a familiar facade,he looked for the number instead while whispering to himself, "Number 12 Grimmauld Place," and then as if out of nowhere, he saw it.

Of course, he thought to himself. The Black family, living amongst Muggles for reasons unknown, would have their house protected from the sight of anyone that wasn't magical.

Being careful to appear casual and attempt to be unseen he walked to the door, admired the silver knocker in the form of a twisted serpent, and knocked.

A grizzled old house elf answered the door, "Master Draco, it has been a long time since you have been here. Why did you come now?"

"I'm here to see Harry," Draco said with a hitch in his voice.

"Right this way sir," Kreacher said, turned, and walked away.

Draco entered and followed the elf down the gas lamp lit hallway after closing the door behind him. He found himself in a parlor he vaguely recalled spending time in while his mother and her aunt would have tea. The tapestry drew him over. He traced family lines finding himself, and a line from Hermione's letter came back to him, "He sits and stares at the walls for hours, at one wall in particular." Was this the wall she mentioned? It made sense if Harry was telling the truth about loving him but…

He turned and looked around the room; there was no evidence of use and no evidence of it being abandoned. It was clean. There was no sign of dust, but with a house elf around, even one as old as the one that answered the door, that was not a surprise. His gaze slid over the table with it's knick knacks and pictures, over the chairs and the sofa, finally back to the tapestry on the wall.

Again he traced lines with his finger, stopping at some of the burn marks. Cocking his head to the side, he thought a moment before stepping back and standing up strong. He pulled his wand from its pocket, stood with feet shoulder width apart, aimed his wand at a burn, and spoke just under his breath. When nothing changed he sighed and dropped his wand to his side.

"You're not the first to try and fix that and I'm sure you won't be the last."

"I had to try," Draco said rotating on the spot.

"You should be with your mother," Harry replied from the door before turning to walk away.

"Funny," the blonde said, "she sent me here, said I should be with you."

"Why?" he asked over his shoulder.

"Because I'm in love with you."

Harry turned back and walked into the room, over to a sidebar where he poured two glasses of Firewhiskey. He handed on to Draco and said, "Your hair is back to its natural color I see."

The blond's jaw dropped and his head spun at the change in the conversation.

Harry took a drink, sat in on of the arm chairs, and gestured to the other with the glass in his hand.

"Decided it wasn't a good idea to come back with the darker hair? Wouldn't match your passport I suppose, not that that really matters. I've seen Muggles change their hair color constantly. Or were you thinking that anyone here who saw you with the darker hair would accuse you of trying to hide who you are?"

The jaw closed, but he blinked several times, "I don't… what?"

"Don't get me wrong," Harry continued, "I like your hair this way. Not that it didn't look good before but I think you'd look good to me no matter what. I am glad to see you kept the beard, it honestly makes you more attractive, if that's even possible."

The blond head shook, eyes popped out for a moment, then he lifted his glass to his mouth and drained the glass in one swallow, then said, "I tell you I love you, and you comment on my hair."

Harry shrugged. "Well, I told you I loved you and got no response. I figured this is better."

"As if you gave me time to respond," Draco scoffed, "telling me you knew who I really was and that you loved me, kissing me, shoving a stack of letters into my have, and then leaving. I don't," he broke off, went to the sidebar, filled his glass, and drained it for a second time.

"Are you going to keep drinking that way? I ask because if you are, I should let Narcissa know you won't be back tonight and have Kreacher fix you a room."

Draco growled in frustration and moved to fill his glass again, halting before the liquid flowed from the decanter. He left both on the sidebar and crossed to stand in front of Harry.

"You are absolutely the most infuriating person I've ever known."

"Really?" Harry smirked.

"Yes," the blond growled.

Harry chuckled lowly, "As if you're not equally as infuriating."

"And it continues," silver eyes rolled and he stalked away across the room and back again stopping in front of the fireplace where the chairs sat.

"I never really meant to hide when I first went to the States. I just wanted to try living where not everyone knew me and knew what I'd done. I was hoping to get a fresh start, not that I deserved one, but I wanted one all the same. It didn't come. There was judgement. Oh not from Sharnell or from the president, they were both remarkably kind and accepting but others well.. I kind of grew paranoid."

"A feeling that only continued to grow during your time, there I take it."

"Yeah, yeah, the time alone after caring for Raleigh who himself was a rather paranoid old guy probably didn't help. I should have spent more time with others, but once I took on the role of Austin I was sure I'd give too much away if I did spend time in public. The amount of time I spent working out a backstory for Austin was ridiculous. I had planned on him being a student at Ilvermorny, I even spent time visiting the school and town nearest. There are several books about it, much as we have Hogwarts: a history, I read them all. Finally, I gave up on that idea, I would still be a wizard from the States, time with a voice coach took care of my accent," he smiled wryly over his shoulder, then turned completely, and sat in the chair across from Harry, leaning back, crossing his legs, and looking to the ceiling as if in deep concentration. "I can make it come and go at will now," he said in his Austin voice.

"I wondered about that."

"The accent?"

Harry nodded, "And the change in appearance."

"You were worried that I was using Polyjuice."

"A bit," he acknowledged. "I didn't really think you'd put your health at risk that way but I also didn't know how much you'd be willing to use Muggle methods to disguise yourself."

"They do have quite a few ways to change appearance without magic, some that seem to be much safer. I dyed my hair and wore colored contacts. Working, physical labor, changed my body, the muscles are all me and I kind of like them."

"So do I," Harry raised an eyebrow, "though I also liked you tall, thin, lithe as it were."

"Are you trying to distract me?"

"Not really."

"Then let me finish please," Draco nearly pleaded. "This is hard enough to do, open up and tell you all of this without you being cute right now."

"Oh I'm cute, am I?"

"Potter!"

Harry demurred, "You're right. I'm sorry, but you really don't have to tell me any of this."

"Yes, I really do. Anyway; I did travel the States just as I said, coming upon Raleigh and his cabin just as I said. I stopped looking over my shoulder. I concentrated on building my lab and building my business. The fear and worry were still there; they rose when someone came to visit like the witches from Merl's Mount."

He stood, and began to pace the room. "I'm not sure I can explain it that you would understand," he paused and looked at Harry, "then again considering your childhood you might be the best one to understand. Once you've been incarcerated, captive, locked up, you cherish your freedom even more. I don't know that the Wizengamot realized what they were doing, but honestly I think a year in Azkaban would have been better than a year locked up in the Manor. It was bad enough to be locked up in that place with so many horrific memories, but to see how it affected Mother. I spent almost all of my time in my room or that back parlor because those were rooms he never set foot in. Once Mother began to clean though, I came face to face daily with memories of my failures and cowardice but I couldn't let it show. I buried it as deeply as I could and put on my Malfoy facade. Even with her and she with me. It should have been an easy year. Day after day it became more difficult to even get out of bed. I sound like I'm whinging, I did after all have a roof over my head, food to eat, and was with the one person who loved me more than anyone else."

"Captivity is captivity, no matter the location."

A small smile crossed Draco's face for a moment, "You were the only one who understood that, it took me too long to see that that was why you visited us over and over again."

"You thought I came to gloat?" Harry asked.

"Worse," the blond said with a sigh, "I thought you came in pity."

"I did come with that in mind the first time, at least partly but it was more than that. It was also a sense of duty; your mother did save my life after all."

"It really doesn't matter, the thought that you came in pity was just a blow to my already heavily damaged ego and was ridiculous nonetheless because each time you came Mother felt better, she smiled a little more. And…"

"And what?" Harry asked after a moment.

"You know, you're the only one I can talk to like this."

Harry raised an eyebrow, "You're barely talking as it is. Okay, you're talking more now, but not usually when we're together."

"Yes, now imagine just how little I talked to anyone else. At least really talked about anything important. Obviously, we both know I was a right prat in our first years of school. I was full of bluster and not afraid to let it show. I had to gain cronies of my own to be like my father, minions as it were. But to really talk to someone that was rare."

"You didn't really talk to Crabbe and Goyle?"

The blond shook his head, "I know your friends are more like family, so this is a strange concept to you. I don't know, maybe when we were very young. Before Hogwarts even; before I was trying to be the one in charge, before I realized anything I said to them probably went home. After fourth year, I realized just how dangerous it might be, even worse in the summer after fifth year when Father was in Azkaban."

Harry winced, "I'm sorry."

Draco raised a hand, "Don't, don't apologize. It's not your fault. He made his own choices and suffered the consequences, just like I did."

"What about Blaise, Pansy, and Theo?" the brunette asked.

"Never Pansy," the blond shuddered at the mere thought, "Blaise once in awhile but rarely, the same with Theo. Again though it was mostly when we were young by fifth year we all started keeping things pretty close only speaking about what we had to and only saying the right things."

"And your parents?"

"Lucius?" Draco's eyebrows raised and he laughed ruefully. "Are you serious? Never! I wouldn't dare. I might say the wrong thing. He wasn't physical with me, but always incredibly strict, holding me to ridiculously high standards that were sometimes impossible to meet. His cold derision would go on for days. It was something I avoided at all costs."

"You really were raised to be a perfect Pureblood scion of wizarding society, weren't you?"

"There was no other option. Had I not been an only child ,things might have been easier but there's no guarantee. I still would have had certain lessons. We're off topic," he said and shook his head.

"Yes we are," Harry replied, "and that's my fault. I'm sorry, but topics tend to drift in normal conversation."

"And you consider this a normal conversation?"

The brunette chuckled, "I'm not sure a conversation with you is ever quite normal."

"Which is exactly what I'm saying," the blond replied. "Talking to you it's different, not like talking to anyone else. Except maybe Mother; even then it's not the same."

"And why is it so different? Why is it you can talk to me more than anyone else? Why me of all people?:

"It started when you came to visit that first time during that year. You didn't judge. You didn't show pity. You treated me as if nothing were out of the ordinary. You harassed and teased me as if we had spent a lifetime as friends instead of enemies."

"I was tired," Harry said. "Tired of fighting, tired of the effort of being at odds for no reason. I was over things that just don't matter, tired of being so petty and immature considering all we've been through, all everyone has been through."

"So you grew up first."

"I think we all grew up early."

"Yes, but you seem to be the first have any of us to let go of the animosity."

"Dying will do that to you."

"So you truly did die and come back?"

"I'll tell you about it sometime."

"That presumes we're going to continue to talk."

"And we're not going to?"

"We shouldn't. This is madness, pure and simple. I should never have come here. It'll never work. I've lost my mind and clearly so has mother. So have you."

"When you say this is madness, this will never work, 'this' is us, right?"

"Yes, I mean us," Draco said. "Of course I do."

"Seemed to work just fine in California," Harry replied.

"I'm not talking about sex or anything physical," Draco nearly snapped.

"Neither was I."

The blond head shook, "California is a different world. It's not the same thing. I can be a different person there."

"You can be whoever you want anywhere you want to be. You just have to be that person. If others don't accept you, that's their problem not yours."

"But it wouldn't be just my problem, it would be yours too and that's not right."

"I don't care," Harry shrugged.

"But you should. You hate being the center of attention, having everyone look at you, talk about you. What do you think your life would be like with constant articles in the Daily Prophet about the two of us? All the speculation about just what I did to get you, or what's wrong with you that you're with me. A dozen sordid stories a week. All with Skeeter's byline. You and I both know just how low she's willing to go to have her story on the front page."

"I don't care. It's not worth losing a chance at a real relationship."

"And you think we have a chance? Really?" Eyebrows went skyward, "with our history, with everything that I've done, you really think we could ever make it work?"

Harry shook his head slightly, "I'm not saying it would be easy, but who else would ever understand what either of us has been through more than each other? No one else that was even in the war on either side would ever get it. Some of it's pretty horrific, but it's our past so we acknowledge it. It's our history, for better or worse, it's our history. We don't lock it in the basement or give it a coat of paint to make it appear better than it is. It's our history. We grow from it, use it to understand where the other one is coming from."

At this point Harry stood and began pacing along the wall, running his hand up and down the tapestry. "I know it's mad, I mean really crazy, but I love you. It shocked the hell out of me. I never saw it coming, never would have dreamed it in a million years, but it did and I do, and I don't give a damn what anybody else has to say. I'm tired of living my life considering what anybody might think, tired of trying to live up to others expectations. I want to live my life for me, doing what makes me happy and somehow you make me happy."

"You make me happy too," Draco said in a near whisper. "I never saw it coming either. You wore me down just being there week after week. Talking to me, listening when I did talk, playing chess with me of all things, helping me take care of my mother and the Manor."

"Tell me the truth."

Draco tensed, "About what?"

"Am I part of the reason you left? Part of the reason you went to the States?" Harry asked and braced for the answer.

Draco's head hung, "Yes. I was already falling for you. I knew there was no way it would work. Hell, at that point I thought you were still with the Weasley girl. Even if you liked men there was no way you'd fall for me, and if you did you'd never be dumb enough to actually consent to a relationship with a convicted Death Eater."

"I'm just exactly that dumb," Harry grinned.

Draco tried to resist but gave in and chuckled, "Yeah I guess you are."

"So we should try, at least try. We don't have to stay here. We can go back to California."

"I won't take you away from your friends and family. We should find out if this will work when it's not just the two of us alone somewhere, when we have to interact with others. Especially with others who don't like me and have no reason to."

"That's a good point. So where should we live?"

"Live? As in together? Isn't that moving a bit fast?"

"We don't have to share a room or a bed yet, but we spent weeks living together already. We could do it. You probably don't want to live at the Manor anymore."

Draco shuddered, "Not even with the renovations that have been done, no. Besides you wouldn't want to live there either."

"No," came the response with a nearly identical shudder. "And you probably also don't want to try and live with your Mother and everyone else at Andromeda's."

"No, that's too many people for me after living alone for over a year, at least too many so quickly."

"We could stay here until we find a better place. We could each have our own floor if we wanted, and Kreacher takes care of the place so it's less for us to do. I think there's even a lab here somewhere, though it's not like the one you set up back in - wait. What about your lab and business?"

"I closed up the cabin and lab before I left, just temporarily. I stopped in at Merl's Mount and talked to Paige and Mel, who I think might have been in labor or maybe just late pregnancy pain, I'm not sure. I just know it made me glad to be a man."

Harry nodded, "Yeah, after seeing Hermione in labor I agree. I got back just in time for little Rose to appear, actually. I haven't spent nearly enough time with them since I've been back, too busy brooding."

"Which is my fault."

"Not really," he replied. "You're right, I dropped that all on you and left as if you'd come right after me and that was unrealistic. Anyway, so what about your customers?"

"I duplicated a letter for each explaining that I had a family emergency and would not be brewing for the foreseeable future, then I directed them to contact Sharnell. I also sent her a message to let her know I was coming here and to share the changes in recipes I'd made, so if she gets orders she'll be able to fill them the same way."

"You'll need to go back, though."

"Yes, to close up the cabin if I'm staying here."

"We can use it as a vacation spot. It's certainly far enough away from here to be able to really relax. So you'll stay?" Harry asked.

Draco thought for a moment before nodding his head and walking to stand in front of the other man, "I still say this is absolutely mad but it's worth a try."

Harry smiled slowly and the two leaned in to each other for a long gentle kiss.


	18. epilogue

"This is simply lovely, Harry dear," Narcissa said from the doorway. "You two should be very comfortable here."

"Draco! Draco, did you see there's a Quidditch pitch in the woods?" Teddy called as he ran back into the clearing around the house.

Draco and Harry both chuckled as the young boy turned and ran back into the woods, while they heard Narcissa mumbling to herself about changes that could be made to bring the house up to standards.

"You call this a cabin?" the blonde said, raising an eyebrow as he gazed back at the log house with at least four bedrooms.

"Well it looks like one, just a little larger than the one you have in California."

"And how did you find this exactly?"

"A few months ago when I went to visit Teddy, I overheard your mother and Andromeda trying to decide how to redistribute family wealth and belongings, specifically between you and Teddy. Don't," he raised his hand and waited for a nod from the other man before continuing, "that's the conversation you can have with your mother at another time. But it got me thinking."

"About what?"

"I've never looked into my family history. Obviously there's nothing coming to me from my mother's side. But what about my father's? I know technically the house in Godric's Hollow is mine now but I'm never going to live there. It would be too hard knowing it's where my parents died and it's really a monument for wizardkind. I've looked in the family vault but really never paid attention to anything but the money because that was all I needed," Harry said, "when we went into Bellatrix's vault I saw so much more than money. It didn't register at the time, not really. We were so focused on finding the cup, but it came back to me after that conversation.

He shrugged, "I was vaguely aware of the fact that there were other things in my vault. I'm guessing when my grandparents passed, their things were transferred to my father."

Draco nodded, "They would have been physically or at least legally. They vault itself may not have changed depending on the security level."

"Yes, I didn't expect to find actual properties in a vault."

"The list of deeds might be though."

"Exactly, I knew my parents didn't live in the house my father grew up in and I wondered what happened to it. I know my father was an only child, very few cousins in the extended family. The Potters may not be part of the Sacred 28 but they are an old wizarding family, and the money has ebbed and flowed through the years, being the best with my grandfather. It was past time for me to do an accounting of the family holdings. I do need to write a will."

"A will?" Draco said. "Do you have some really dangerous mission coming up that you haven't told me about?"

Harry smiled and laid a hand reassuringly on the blonds arm, "No, but in my line of work it's a smart idea. As of now I have no designated heir. My things should go to Teddy as he's my godson but I want to make it legal and add other bequests. Anyway, the whole reason I really started looking into it was to find us a place to live out of the city."

"And this is what you found," Draco said gesturing to the house and trees around them.

"Yes. I'm not exactly sure who lives here or if anyone did full-time. It may have just been one of those vacation home like your family chateau in France. When I saw the placement of it on the map, near enough to Banchory to easily pop in for supplies but far enough away to have no neighbors I thought it might be perfect, so I got up here as soon as I could."

"And how long exactly had it been standing empty?" Draco asked.

"Well at least since my birth, possibly a while before that I don't know. It was incredibly dusty and cobwebby. There's nothing more that Kreacher likes than a challenge to clean, so I sent him up here. Then because I'm absolutely pants at interior decorating I got help from Ginny and Hermione with a casual advice from Luna," at that both men winced just a little, "I replaced all the furniture. But that's not all, come with me."

Harry took the other man's hand and led him to a small shed in the back.

As they rounded the corner of the house Draco saw the building.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Your new lab," Harry replied.

He opened the door and stepped back letting the other man enter first. When he stepped inside he found Draco standing in the middle of the room, turning in a slow circle taking it all in.

"How did you-"

"I had help," Harry said. "I wrote to Sharnell and Mel. They both went to your cabin and the lab. They took pictures for me inside. Sharnell packed up everything that would survive the trip overseas, and took the rest home or sent it back with Mel. I made sure no one went who didn't know you before. "

"These are my cauldrons?" Draco asked in shock.

"Yes, and all the other supplies. Well, all the other brewing tools are yours as well as mine from school because I don't need them, so I put them in here. You're welcome to get rid of anything you don't need."

Draco crossed to the ingredients cabinet, which was exactly where it had been in his lab in California. Opening it he said, "It's fully stocked."

"Sharnell gave me a list. You can start brewing anytime. I know you hate the brewing room at Grimmauld place. It's just too dark and dreary. You're not happy with the way the potions turn out," he trailed off.

Draco walked back over and stood in front of his lover; raising a hand, he caressed the other man's cheek, "So you built this for me?"

Harry blushed and nodded, "Is it all right?"

"It's perfect," Draco said, "and so are you." He leaned in for a kiss.

 **A/N and so we reach the end in perfect time for me to start this year's NaNoWriMo, another Drarry bc I just love those boys. hope you've enjoyed, reviews always welcome**


End file.
